Harry Potter and the Ruby of Karda
by Reethi
Summary: This story is set in Harry’s fifth year at Hogwarts. It is not one of those Harry vs Voldemort stories – except very incidentally, Voldemort is in the story, but it is more an adventure story (in the style of Sorcerer’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets.
1. Piers Polkiss

Chapter 1: Pierce Polkis Chapter 1: Pierce Polkis 

Tension hung in the air at Number 4, Privet Drive. The Dursleys, after many tantrums from Dudley, were going on vacation to Paris, and were not happy at leaving Harry behind.

"I'm not leaving him in the house by himself", Aunt Petunia had declared flatly. "Who knows what damage his kind can cause? Do you remember the dinner with the Masons? When this boy destroyed my pudding? Or when he blew Marge up? I don't want to come back to a smashed up house. Can't we leave him with his own kind?" 

"Petunia, you know there is nothing we can do", Uncle Vernon had replied, shooting a glance filled with loathing at Harry. "Mrs. Figg refuses to watch him for two whole weeks, and I don't blame her. Those wierdos that he calls friends are nowhere to be found, and of course, Marge wants nothing to do with him. Mr. Polkis has agreed to slip some food through the mail slot every day, and has promised to call us at the first sign of trouble. I'm not saying I'm happy with the arrangements, but Dudley wants to see Paris, don't you son?"

Dudley, who surprisingly had managed to be silent until then, had nodded. "Pierce is planning to go next year", he had said, his small beady eyes glinting. "And I want to go first. I can't believe you care more about what _he _might do to the house that taking me to Paris." And with that, he had waddled out of the room in a huff. 

This was Dudley's new way of getting what he wanted – not talking to his parents until he got his own way. He had used this weapon all summer, and so far, it caused Aunt Petunia to abandon the diet she was forced to put Dudley on, and Uncle Vernon had agreed to teach him how to drive. It worked that time too, Aunt Petunia's eyes had filled with tears, and she had cried after Dudley, "Of course we can go to Paris, Dudleydums, we'll figure out what to do with this boy." 

So the Dursleys were going to Paris, and Harry had been locked in the house. Not that he minded, he could do his homework in peace without worrying that Uncle Vernon was going to lock his spell books in the cupboard underneath the stairs, he could let Hedwig out of her cage so she could stretch her wings, and he could, for a change, have a birthday without the Dursleys either complaining about him, or pretending he wasn't there. 

Harry would have had the time of his life had he not been worrying about something Uncle Vernon had said. Uncle Vernon had been unable to contact the Weasleys, and Harry himself had owled Ron twice so far this summer, without getting a reply. He had assumed in the beginning that Ron was just busy, or that he couldn't use Errol, or something like that, but what if something serious had happened? 

What if the Weasleys were in trouble with the Ministry of Magic because they were helping Dumbledore in the fight against Voldemort? At the end of his fourth year at Hogwarts, when Dumbledore announced to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley that Voldemort had regained his power, the Weasleys had said they knew what to do. What if that was something the Ministry disapproved of, or worse, that they had specifically forbidden? The Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, had been stubborn in insisting that Voldemort had not returned to power, and Dumbledore had announced that he intended to do what it took to prevent the Dark Lord's rise. 

Harry didn't like the idea of the Weasleys being part of Dumbedore's supporters, and taking on the Minister of Magic. What if Mr.Weasley somehow lost his job, it would then be all Harry's fault. His blood was one of the things that caused Voldemort to regain his power, and though the logical part of Harry's mind insisted that it wasn't anything he could have prevented, Harry was tormented with his part in the Dark Lord's resurrection.

Or worse still, what if Voldemort had attacked the Weasleys? Harry wished for the thousandth time that he had subscribed to the Daily Prophet. Normally, it wasn't too bad to be out of contact with the wizarding world, but when Voldemort was slowly returning to power, he really felt helpless sitting at the Dursleys, not knowing what was going on. 

In fact, he had received only two letters since the start of the summer holidays. One was a short note from Hermione, writing excitedly that her parents were taking her to Romania so she could do some research on vampires. 

"_Vampires are considered Dark Creatures,_", she had written, sounding as usual like she was reciting out of a textbook, "_but then, so are werewolves, and look at Prof. Lupin. Prof. Dumbledore believes that there are no Dark or Light Creatures, and that every one makes a conscious choice to embrace good or evil._ _I've done some reading, and I can't find any vampires that renounced their Dark powers, but maybe in Romania, I can find out more. In any case, we don't know much about vampires, and it would be great if I can find out something interesting about them for my holiday Dark Arts research project._

_What are you researching? Don't forget to do your project, Prof. Mc.Gonagall hinted that our research projects would be useful for our coursework this year.I wonder who our new Defense against Dark Arts professor is going to be? Do you think Prof. Dumbledore would ask Prof. Lupin to return? I really hope so. We need all the Defense against Dark Arts knowledge we can get. _

_I will see you the day before the start of term at Diagon Alley. Want to meet me at Flourish and Blotts? Owl Ron and let him know too. _

_Your friend,_

_Hermione._

The other was from Hagrid. His note was even shorter, and definitely more somber in tone. 

_Harry,_

_I'm leaving for the North today, Prof. Dumbledore thinks it is urgent we contact the giants as soon as possible, and I'm goin' ta meet my ma. Don't go mentioning this to anyone – it is top-secret – and the only reason I'm tellin' you at all is that I don't want you owlin' me when I'm up North. The giants don't react well to owls, and the Ministry might track the owl. _

_Be careful. There are all kinds of rumors circulating about You-Know-Who. You are being protected by Prof. Dumbledore as long as you stay with your Muggle relatives. It is best for you ter stay out of touch with the wizarding world for the summer. _

_Hagrid._

_PS: I've sent you some treacle tarts just in case those dratted Muggles you live with are starving you again. _

Between Hagrid's warnings about keeping a low profile, and Ron's continuing silence, Harry half wished the Dursleys were still at home. Aunt Petunia would have given him enough work that he would have not had a spare moment to worry. He could have teased Dudley by mumbling pretend spells under his breath when he was near, and even Uncle Vernon's diatribes about the state of the government, inflation, and whatnot would have distracted him. 

After the Dursleys had been away for about a week, Harry's worries had reached a fever pitch and he decided he had had enough. Although it was dangerous, he would owl Sirius. Hagrid hadn't explicitly told him not to but he had been avoiding writing to Sirius, heeding Sirius' warning about not owling him using Hedwig. But the circumstances were serious. He had to find out what was going on with the Weasleys, and he couldn't think of anyone else to contact. Hermione was away, Hagrid could not be contacted, and he felt foolish writing to Prof. Dumbledore for reassurance. Sirius was the only person he could think of who he could write to and not feel foolish about his anxieties. He took out his quill and a piece of parchment, and chewed thoughtfully on the end of his quill for a moment.

Sirius was inclined to worry about Harry, and he didn't want Sirius to know he was alone in the Dursleys's house. Harry was afraid that that would make Sirius do something stupid, like come and visit him, and despite the poor opinion the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge had of Harry, he was sure the Ministry was keeping his house under surveillance. 

So he needed to get his questions about the Weasleys and Voldemort answered, but in a manner that didn't arouse any suspicion from Sirius. He thought hard for a couple of minutes, and finally wrote, 

_Dear Sirius,_

_I hope you are doing well._

_Have you heard from the Weasleys all summer? I haven't heard from Ron. I did get a letter from Hermione though, she was planning to go to Romania with her parents. _

_The Dursleys are not as bad as usual – they leave me alone a lot, and I appreciate the peace and quiet. Also, Dudley is not dieting any more, thank goodness, so I don't have to eat any more grapefruit or celery. _

_Reply soon,_

_Your godson,_

_Harry._

"They leave me alone a lot", Harry said out aloud, as Hedwig gave him an indignant look. "I'm not lying to him, they do leave me alone a lot." Hedwig hooted, unconvinced, but took the rolled up piece of the parchment and flew away. Harry hadn't been writing many letters over the summer, and she looked glad she had something to do. 

Two days passed by, and Harry still hadn't heard back from Sirius. Hedwig had returned in less than a day, which lead Harry to believe that Sirius was somewhere close by. He had almost finished his homework, except for his Defense Against Dark Arts research, for which he couldn't think of anything to write about. He had also polished his Firebolt (he was now polishing it daily, for want of anything better to do), and cleaned out Hedwig's cage.

Mr. Polkiss had come by in the morning, as he had done every day since the Dursleys left. He never talked to Harry, Harry had a feeling he was afraid of him. His aunt and uncle had told everyone they knew that Harry went to St. Brute's school for Incurably Bad Boys, and Mr. Polkiss probably didn't want anything to do with an Incurably Bad Boy. He didn't really leave Harry very much to eat - half a loaf of bread, a can of soup and some stale cheese, but to Harry, who was used to not getting very much to eat at the Dursleys, this seemed a normal amount of food. He didn't even have to feed Hedwig with it. Hedwig never cared very much for the food he ate and since she was free to fly about, she preferred to hunt for herself. Thankfully, Aunt Petunia wasn't at home to screech about the dead rats (and one dead frog) she brought in. 

Despite his worries about the Weasleys, Voldemort and now Sirius, Harry was feeling excited – tomorrow was his birthday. Until Harry was eleven, he had had extremely horrid birthdays, the Dursleys's ideas of presents were old socks, safety pins, or – if he was lucky, a penny. But since Harry had discovered he was a wizard, things had definitely taken a turn for the better. His eleventh birthday had been the happiest day of his life – he had found out he was a wizard that day when Hagrid had brought him his Hogwarts letter, and Hagrid had taken him shopping at Diagon Alley, where he realized how famous he was in the wizarding world. None of his subsequent birthdays had been quite as spectacular, but he generally got really good presents from Ron, Hermione and his godfather Sirius, and Mrs. Weasley always sent him something delicious to eat. 

Harry wished fervently that this year would be the same. He didn't really want presents that much, but he desperately wanted to hear from Ron and Sirius. Apart from being desperately worried about them, he was getting quite tired of being on his own, and hopefully, Ron would ask him to stay. 

Going to bed was hard. Since Aunt Petunia wasn't around to wake him up at the crack of dawn to cook breakfast for Dudley, Harry had fallen into the habit of staying awake late at night, and getting up late. He walked around the house a couple of times rather aimlessly, and then he decided to polish his wand. Harry had been embarrassed last year at the Triwizard Tournament, when all the contestants except him had polished, well-maintained wands, and he had resolved then to take better care of his own wand. He headed up the stairs, went into his bedroom and retrieved his wand from the cupboard. Just as he was doing that, his eyes fell on the clock by his bedside. 

"11.58pm", he said. "Fancy starting my birthday polishing my wand." 

Hedwig, who had been busy poking at the dead frog, hooted softly. She had been out all day, flying out as soon as she had returned from delivering Harry's letter to Sirius, and had just returned a half-hour ago. Harry supposed she was visiting some other owls. "She must be pretty bored", he thought, ", its not like I've given her a lot to do so far." 

He decided to polish his wand in the kitchen, and clattered down the stairs, counting the seconds to go till his birthday, as he liked to do every year.

"Seven… six… five…", Harry muttered, jumping over the creaky stair, "four… three… two… one…"

Just as he counted "one…", the front door burst open with a crash. Standing framed in the door, smirking slightly was Piers Polkiss. 

Harry who had started reaching for his wand in panic, straightened, and said coldly, "What do you want, Polkiss?"

"Potter. Harry Potter. Dudley did remind me about your birthday, and I decided to come and make sure you weren't spending it alone." 

Piers sauntered into the room, his hands in this pockets. He was still rather rat-faced, but he had grown over the years. His shoulders were wide, and he now looked more like Crabbe or Goyle, but Harry knew he wasn't as stupid. Right now, he just looked extremely dangerous, standing inside the Dursleys' living room with a smile on his lips, and eyes cold as steel. 

"Thanks a lot, Polkiss.", Harry replied bravely, " but shouldn't a little boy like you be home so late at night?"

Piers just smiled. "Come on in, he's alone", he said in the direction of the open front door, and the rest of Dudley's friends from Smeltings crowded in. Thomas Parker was almost as big as Dudley, but he had short, spiky dark hair, Neil Flanning was tall with powerful arms that looked like they would crush steel, and Jeremy Bates was fair, broad-shouldered and was cracking his knuckles in a threatening manner. They were all carrying their hallmark Smelting sticks, and they looked mean and spoiling for a fight. 

"I hear they teach you how to fight at St.Brutes", Piers said, looking challengingly at Harry. "We thought we might leave you alone, but then Dudley told us how you almost ruined his Paris trip. We don't like boys from St.Brutes, and we definitely don't like boys who interfere in what we do, do we?"

"Don't like them at all", replied Thomas Parker, another good friend of Dudley's. "So, Potter, let's see what you've learned at St. Brute's…"

  
And with that, they all moved threateningly towards Harry. 

Harry shrank back, his mind racing. He had his wand with him, of course, and he could use magic to hold off Dudley's gang, but then he would risk getting expelled from Hogwarts. When Dobby had used magic in his second year, Harry had got an official warning from the Ministry, and it had warned that he risked expulsion the next time he used magic over the holidays. And when it came down to it, Harry would let himself get beaten up by Piers Polkiss and the others, rather than use magic and jeopardize his Hogwarts education. "Perhaps if I tried running away," he thought, "I could draw them into the house, and then try slipping out of the front door." It was a faint chance, but although Dudley's gang were well armed and mean, they weren't fleet of foot. Harry edged back a couple of steps. He was right at the foot of the stairs now. 

"Scared, Potter?", Piers laughed chillingly. "Get him, boys!"

But before Piers had finished talking, Harry had run up the stairs. He slammed the door to Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia's bedroom shut, hoping Dudley's gang would think to look there. And then he ducked into the linen cupboard just outside. Harry's tormentors' view had been obstructed by the bend in the stairs, so they couldn't see what Harry was doing. As he had hoped, they guessed that he was hiding in the bedroom. 

Parker opened the bedroom door, and taunted, "Come, Potter, it will be easier for you if you don't try to escape us…" 

The rest of the gang dutifully sniggered. "Maybe he's hiding under the bed", Bates said, as he pushed his way past Parker into the room. This was Harry's chance – in one quick motion, he jumped out of the closet, pushed Neil Flanning into the room, slammed the bedroom door shut, and turned the key in the lock. Breathing heavily, he put the key in his pocket. Only Piers left. That didn't make it an even fight - Piers was easily twice as big as Harry, but at least it shortened the odds on him a little. 

"Clever move, Potter", Piers Polkiss said from the bend of the stairs, "but it really doesn't buy you much time, does it?" He started up the flight of stairs slowly, not taking his eyes of Harry. "Think you can outsmart me, Potter?" 

Harry gulped. Piers sounded calm and controlled, but Harry, who had been chased by Dudley's gang before knew that Piers was most dangerous when he hadn't lost his temper. Should he use his wand? Wasn't wand use allowed at times like these? He was afraid of Piers in this mood, and that was preventing him from thinking clearly. Suddenly, an idea struck him – and he ran into his room. 

"Where are you going, Potter?", Piers taunted, "running out of places to hide?" Harry frantically looked around for something to use as a weapon, but the room was filled with Dudley's old broken toys, and there was nothing he could use. His broomstick was stuck in the cupboard underneath the stairs, so he couldn't even escape out of the window. All he could hope for with his plan was to gain a few seconds where he could make it past Piers – but it would have to do. 

"Hedwig, help! Hold him off", Harry whispered, not having any clue if this was going to work, but remembering Fawkes defending him against the basilisk. 

And it seemed to work. As Piers entered Harry's room, Hedwig screeched and plunged towards him. Piers swore, and tried to defend himself against the flurry of wings and talons that had suddenly attacked him. Harry seized the moment, thrust himself past Piers, and bolted down the stairs, knowing that his only chance of safety was if he could leave the house, and try to lose Piers in one of the surrounding gardens. He threw himself at the front door, grasping frantically at the handle, trying to open the door. 

It wouldn't open. Harry hadn't seen Piers lock it when he came in, but maybe he had? He tried the living room windows, but those wouldn't open either. They were all jammed solid. 

BAM! A fist crashed into the side of Harry's face. He looked up through his rapidly swelling eye, to see Piers Polkiss smile, and for the first time, to see the smile reach his eyes. "I really am not _that _stupid, Potter", he said, as he kicked Harry in the stomach. "Do try to remember that, would you?" Another methodical kick, this time aimed at Harry's knee. Harry screamed in pain. "You really brought this upon yourself, you know, Potter. Running around all over the place, setting that owl of yours upon me… Where's the bird now, Potter?"

"What have you done with Hedwig?", Harry gasped, through waves of pain. 

Piers just smiled. He drew his fist back, presumably to punch Harry's face again. 

Right at that moment, however, for the second time that night – CRASH. The door flew open. And framed in it stood – Hermione? 

"Hermione?", mumbled Harry dazedly, as he passed out. What was Hermione doing at his house? 

…

It was the next day, and Harry was very stiff and bruised from the beating he had received yesterday. He had woken up to find himself lying in the Grangers' spare bedroom. Mrs. Granger had been sitting by his bedside, looking worried. 

"What happened? Piers…", started Harry, but Mrs.Granger shushed him up. 

"Lie quietly.", she said softly. "Your wounds aren't serious, you will just be rather sore for the next week or so. Paul took care of the boy who was beating you up." 

Paul, Harry figured, must be Hermione's dad. Right then Hermione entered the room, bringing with her a beaker filled to the brim with a steaming purple liquid. "Drink this", she ordered, in a manner reminiscent of Madam Pomprey. "It is a strength restoring portion. I looked up how to brew it after we came back last night."

Harry drank his portion, making a face as he swallowed. It had a grainy texture, and tasted vaguely chalky. But he had never had a good tasting portion in all his time at Hogwarts, so he said nothing as he lay back. 

"I suppose you want to know what happened and how we found you?", Hermione continued. "Prof. Dumbledore has been watching your house all summer. He didn't want to intervene himself – I think he didn't want to go near your house in case You-Know-Who was keeping a watch on his movements… Anyway, he used a travelling spell and transported Dad and me to your front door – with instructions for me to use as little magic as possible to rescue you. Dad pulled Polkiss off you."

"I don't think I've ever seen Dad quite so angry", Hermione said pensively. "He wanted to hit Polkiss so much, I could see that. We took Polkiss home – and I think Dad had a talk with Mr. Polkiss about Piers. I packed your stuff for you, and we brought you here. We told Mr Polkiss you would be spending the rest of the summer here. I think he was rather relieved, in fact. Probably didn't want to face the Dursleys after his son beat you up."

"Not that the Dursleys would care", Harry remarked matter-of-factly. "Hedwig? Is she ok? I had to leave her in my bedroom to try to escape…"

"We found some feathers scattered around, I think Polkiss was trying to hit her with his stick – but she's fine. Just a little ruffled. I borrowed her to owl Prof. Dumbledore to let him know what happened, I hope you don't mind."

"The door wouldn't open. I couldn't get out.", Harry said in a monotone. In the beginning, he was glad to wake up at the Grangers, but the shock was setting in gradually. He had just escaped being killed. He had seen the look in Piers' eyes when he had smiled at him, Piers would have killed him without a second thought. 

Hermione looked strained. "Unfortunately, that was a side-effect of some of the protective magic surrounding the Dursleys' house", she said. "Prof. Dumbledore set it up so you couldn't open the door when there was danger present. In this case, the danger was inside the house… He was very embarrassed, Prof. Dumbledore, and asked me to apologize on his behalf. He can't risk travelling from Hogwarts very much with You-Know-Who about…"

"That's enough, Hermione", Mrs. Granger interrupted. "Harry, you need sleep. Rest for a few hours, then we can celebrate your birthday, if you feel up to it."

"One last question", Harry asked. "Where is Ron? And Sirius? I haven't got an owl from either of them all summer."

"That's two questions… The Weasleys had to leave the country over the summer. It was sudden and unplanned. I think it was something Prof. Dumbledore wanted them to do… Ron had to go with them. And Sirius is also busy with some task Prof. Dumbledore had asked him to do – Prof. Dumbledore told me that Sirius couldn't owl anyone…", Hermione explained. 

"Ron owled you?", Harry asked, absurdly hurt because Ron hadn't owled him, but had managed to owl Hermione. 

"Oh no, Prof. Dumbledore told me yesterday. I think it is top-secret, because I hadn't heard from Ron either all summer." 

Harry felt a little better. He snuggled back into his bed, and within seconds was fast asleep. 

…

After that incredibly bad start to his birthday, things improved dramatically. When he woke up, it was late afternoon. Mrs. Granger heard him move and bustled in. "Good, you're up,", she said, smiling. "Hermione's been waiting. She gets so bored in the summer, with no one to talk to about school work." 

Harry groaned. "I'm joking, Harry", Mrs. Granger laughed. "Why don't you go downstairs?"

Hermione was looking impatient as Harry made his way down the stairs. "You're up, finally!", she exclaimed. "I've been waiting for hours! Let's go, we are going to be late…"

"Late for what?" Harry asked. 

"You'll find out soon enough," Hermione replied mysteriously as she reached for a jar on the mantelpiece. "Follow me…" she said, as she stepped into the fireplace and said, "The Three Broomsticks."

"Ugh. Floo powder," Harry thought, as he followed her. "I guess Hermione must have had her fireplace connected to the network. Are we off to see Dumbledore then?" 

"SURPRISE!", yelled what seemed like a hundred happy voices, as he stepped out of the fireplace at the Three Broomsticks. "Drink up, Harry", said Hermione, grinning, as Madame Rosmerta thrust a glass of butterbeer into Harry's hand. Harry barely had time to see a roomful of smiling people as Hagrid pushed his way towards him. "Bloody Muggle…", he growled. "You alright, Harry?"

"Uh, yeah, I'm alright.", Harry said, puzzled. "I thought you were up N..."

"Prof. Dumbledore decided you needed a feast after your upset last night…", Hagrid said, still looking upset at the thought of Harry getting beaten up. "He rounded as many as your friends as he could contact…"

"And made us all come down here… Fred and George even brought their newest invention to unveil at your party…", a bright voice interrupted. 

"Ron!", Harry exclaimed. He looked at the room filled with all his friends – Ron, Hermione, Hagrid, the Weasley twins, Ginny, Neville, Alicia, Angelina and Katie from the Gryfinndor Quidditch team, Cho who looked especially lovely in a robe in shades of blue and green, and he realized he had never been happier. 

…

The rest of the holidays passed extremely pleasantly. Prof. Dumbledore had allowed Harry to stay at the Grangers for the rest of the holiday. Harry was pretty happy – he would have rather stayed at the Weasleys, but after the evening of the party, Ron and his brothers had to return to their parents. They were still helping Dumbledore, and Ron had been very mysterious about what they were doing. 

"I can't tell…", he had said. "My mother will kill me…" 

But apart from that, Harry had the time of his life. Hermione's parents had treated both Harry and Hermione as adults, and they spent their days in relative freedom. He had managed to tear Hermione away from her books, and the two of them spent their days exploring Diagon Alley, and their evenings practicing Quidditch. They had discovered a Quidditch training camp at one end of Diagon Alley, and the owner, Mr. Ajouer allowed them to practice in the field after his training was done for the day. Harry was extremely interested in the camp, and watched Mr. Ajouer play every chance he could. One of the employees at Flourish and Blotts had told him Mr. Ajouer used to play Quidditch for France (Chaser), and Harry hung around the Quidditch camp, hoping to pick up tips he could use in his game. 

Before he knew it, it was the thirty-first of August, and it was time to go to Diagon Alley to buy their books for the next year. One of the school owls had delivered their book lists for this year, and Harry had spent an entire day in shock at the amount they were supposed to learn that year. Hermione of course was excited, even though her list was about twice as long as Harry's. 

They had planned to meet the Weasleys at the steps of Gringotts, and had arranged to spend the night at the Weasleys. Harry hoped that everything was alright with the Weasleys. Ron and he had come up with this plan the night of his birthday, and he hoped nothing had changed since that day. Ron had been acting very mysterious, refusing to tell what the Weasleys were up to. Harry was surprised that Fred, George and Ron were involved in what the Weasleys were doing. He thought that the Decree of Restriction of Underage Magic would severely restrict what they could do, but perhaps Dumbledore had allowed them to do magic, just as he had allowed Hermione – when she had come to rescue him. 

Harry tossed worriedly for a few minutes in bed, and then he firmly told himself to go to sleep. "Prof. Dumbledore knows where they are…", he told himself. "I'm sure he'll make sure they are alright." And saying so, he fell fast asleep. 

…

Author's Notes: Please review. This is my first fanfic - and I would love feedback. 


	2. Knockturn Alley

Chapter 2: Knockturn Alley Chapter 2: Knockturn Alley 

Harry woke up to the sound of Hedwig screeching the next morning. He had slept well, and the worries of last night seemed far away. He let Hedwig out, and quickly got dressed. He packed his trunk. Although he wasn't going to take it with him, he wanted to have it packed so they could fetch it quickly on their way to the Weasleys. Ron, Hermione and he had arranged that they would spend the night there before leaving for Hogwarts the next day. 

Harry could already hear Hermione clattering down the stairs, yelling to her parents that they better hurry up, she didn't want to keep the Weasleys waiting. Harry grinned. Hermione's concern was uncharacteristic – he wondered how much of that was because Hermione would be meeting Ron after two months. 

Indeed, as he made his way downstairs, he noticed that Hermione looked much as she had the night of the Yule Ball last year. Her hair was smooth and shiny, her face glowed and she looked excited and happy. Harry chuckled to himself. If this was indeed on Ron's account, his friend was in for an interesting school year. 

Hermione rushed them all through breakfast, and they set out for Diagon Alley shortly afterwards. Mr. and Mrs. Granger had decided to accompany them, so they didn't use the fireplace – instead making their way by the Underground. Harry was very relieved at this - he had used the fireplace many times over the course of the summer to go to Diagon Alley, but he didn't think he'd ever get used to the peculiar feeling in his stomach whenever he used Floo Powder. Also, even though he hadn't got lost in the network of fireplaces since his first time using Floo Powder, he was never very certain of ending up at his destination. 

The first time he had gone to Diagon Alley with Hagrid, he had gone through the back of the Leaky Cauldron. Hermione and he had been using the same entrance over the summer, so Harry was very surprised when the Grangers headed past the Leaky Cauldron, to a large, impressive looking building that bore the sign "Gring & Gotts, Attorneys at Law". They entered through the large glass double-doors, and a uniformed guard who nodded cheerfully to Hermione showed them to an elevator. Hermione, noting Harry's puzzled expression shook her head, and rolled her eyes. 

"Honestly, Harry, do you read at all? Surely you know there's more than one entrance to Diagon Alley? This is the one they like Muggles to use. So they can keep track of who goes in and out…"

"So, are there really attorneys in that office?", Harry asked curiously, not in the slightest bit bothered by Hermione's tone. "What if a Muggle walks in off the street and wants an attorney?"

"I think they have some attorneys who work there… Muggle attorneys… Some Muggles know about us – Gringotts has to do something with all the Muggle money they exchange – maybe they pay their attorneys with it?"

Harry was intrigued. There were so many things about the way the Magic and Muggle worlds interacted that he didn't know about. In a second though, that thought had fled his mind, as the elevator opened into the main hall of Gringotts, and he saw Ron waiting with his parents, Fred, George and Ginny on the stairs. 

"Ron!", Harry yelled happily. "All right, Harry?" Ron asked, thumping Harry on his back. He did a double-take when he looked at Hermione, but recovered quickly. 

"Let's go check out the new Firebolt Model 2.", he said excitedly. "Quality Quidditch Supplies just got it in today…"

Fred and George flashed Harry identical grins, Ginny blushed, but managed a shy hello. Mr. Weasley was busy talking to the Grangers – "We just got a telephone – what an interesting gadget", he said beaming from ear to ear. Mrs. Weasley looked concernedly at Harry. "We heard about that Muggle boy attacking you", she said. "I feel so bad – I wish we could have had you to stay over the summer… could have avoided the whole incident…"

Fred winked at him. "We managed to take care of him, though…", he whispered in an aside to Harry. "We tested one of our inventions on him – I don't think he liked it when he proposed marriage to every girl in his school… on his knees too… Got in a bunch of trouble about that. Parents complaining, I think his father was very unhappy with Polkiss. Great invention, if I say so myself. Now, all we need is a good name for our invention."

Harry laughed aloud, he couldn't help himself. "I'll keep on the lookout for a good name", he promised, smirking. It was a great trick… The Weasley twins were imaginative beyond belief. 

"Come on", Ron said again, rather impatiently. "I think they are having a drawing to win the new Firebolt."

"Really?", Harry said. "Let's go."

After making their way towards Quality Quidditch Supplies, looking longingly through the window at the new Firebolt, and finding out regretfully that there was no drawing to win it, the three walked over to Flourish and Blotts. Hermione instantly disappeared among the books, clutching her book list in one hand. Ron shook his head bemusedly. "Crazy…", he mumbled. "Look at her. Thrilled to be in a book store. Let's get our text books quickly."

"Check this out", Harry said, reading from his list. "Defence Against Dark Arts – To Be Determined. I wonder what that means. Do you think they couldn't find a teacher this year?"

"I hope they did", Ron said darkly. "You know if there are no applicants for the job – Snape would probably teach us." Harry shuddered at that prospect. There was no love lost between him and Snape – and it seemed that Snape hated him even more since Harry helped Sirius escape the Dementors in his third year at Hogwarts. 

"Do you know if Hermione ever visited Krum over the summer?", Ron continued, in an extra casual voice. "Ask her yourself, why don't you", Harry suggested, grinning. He ducked from the blow Ron aimed at his head, and waved to attract the attention of a Flourish and Blotts employee. 

"Hogwarts Fifth year?", the witch asked. "I can get most of your books – but the Ministry is requiring that everyone who buys the Defence Against Dark Arts textbook sign for it. You need to ask for it at the counter when you pay."

"Why?", Ron asked. In an aside to Harry, he said, "This is really strange. I've never heard of something like this…"

The witch shrugged. "Security? Fifth year textbooks have a lot of magic information in them. Maybe the Ministry wants to know who gets that information? They won't even let me take a look at the Defence Against Dark Arts book. Top secret, they say. The only one who has looked at one is the manager."

"Weird.", Harry thought. "What could be in a school textbook that is so secret?"

Hermione rejoined them as they finished getting the rest of their textbooks. "Did you hear about our Dark Arts textbook?", she asked. 

"I don't understand", Harry said. "What's to prevent any of us from just sharing the book with anyone? I can see the Slytherins just running off to their DeathEater friends to show them the book…"

Both Ron and Hermione shot Harry identical exasperated looks. "You idiot", Ron explained, "your signature will complete a magical contract. You can't break it."

"Like the Goblet of Fire", Harry said, understanding dawning. "I wonder what's in that book."

Hermione shot them a long-suffering look. "Let's go find out, shall we?", she asked, starting in the direction of the checkout counter. 

Perhaps because of the contract, or perhaps because they were not the only people who had waited till the last day to get their textbooks, the checkout line was twice as long as normal. Harry used the opportunity to ask Ron where he had been the summer. "Tell you later", Ron replied, looking uncomfortable. "When we get to school.". And Harry had to be content with that. 

After what seemed like hours, but was in reality a quarter of an hour, Harry, Ron and Hermione got to the checkout. A harassed looking Ministry wizard was standing there, supervising the signatures. Harry, Hermione and Ron all paid for their books, and signed the contract. 

The wizard handed them each a thick book. It was heavy, and had an ornately patterned green and red cover. "There's no title!", Hermione exclaimed, as she opened her book eagerly. But it was blank on the inside. Harry and Ron checked their books, but they were blank too. 

"As each chapter is taught, it will slowly become visible", the wizard explained. He had been watching them try to read the book. Hermione looked disappointed (How will I prepare for class?). Ron just looked puzzled. "This is very strange.", he said. "I've never known such precautions for a textbook."

"Well, with Vol…"

But Ron shushed him up and rushed them out of the store. "You have to be careful", he cautioned, looking uncharacteristically serious. "The one thing I learned over the summer is that these are dangerous times… you never know who could be listening…" At this, both Hermione and Harry looked to see if more revelations were coming on how Ron spent his summer, but Ron would say no more on that topic.

…

After stopping at the Apothecary for Portion ingredients, Ron turned to Hermione, and asked in the same too-casual voice he'd used on Harry earlier "Want to get an ice cream, Hermione?"

Hermione blushed a little. "Sure", she replied, "Harry – you coming?"

Not for all the money in the world, Harry thought. He didn't want to be anywhere near when Ron asked Hermione if she visited Viktor Krum over the summer, and found out that she had indeed looked him up when she was in Eastern Europe. "I'm going to try to catch up with Fred and George", he said. "I want to show them where this Quidditch training camp is… I'll join you two later." And he set off in the direction of Gambol and Japes, where he had last seen the twins. 

He was almost at there when a flash of red hair caught his eye. Was it Fred? George? Whoever it was, he was walking furtively towards Knockturn Alley. Harry didn't want to get in trouble, but he was really curious. What did the Weasley twins want at Knockturn Alley? They were definitely forbidden from going in there. Harry made a quick decision – and followed the mysterious Weasley in. 

Just off Diagon Alley, whoever it was, stopped, drew a hood over his head and set off down Knockturn Alley. Harry caught a glimpse of the person in a shop window – all he had seen was red hair and glasses. _Percy?_ Now he was definitely intrigued. Percy was supposed to be hard at work at the Ministry, what was he doing in Knockturn Alley? He was generally too concerned about his image to ever want to be seen there. 

Harry set off behind Percy, taking some care not to be seen, and wishing he had his Invisibility Cloak with him. Thankfully, Knockturn Alley was reasonably crowded, and he could keep sight of Percy without having to follow him too closely. Percy didn't seem like he was worried about being followed. He walked quickly past the witch selling her human fingernails, and entered a dark storefront. Harry squinted at the sign. "Cavall and Clark, Apothecary", he read, and wondered if he dared follow Percy into the store. He peeped into the storefront. 

Percy had entered and gone straight to the back of the store, where he was talking to a dark-haired, pale wizard. This was presumably either Mr. Cavall or Mr. Clark. Harry shuddered. The wizard looked like he had tried out his portion ingredients, with unpleasant results. His eyes twitched constantly, and he was drooling out of the side of his mouth. Flies were buzzing around him, but they didn't seem to bother him at all. They were both intent on their conversation. 

Harry decided to take a chance and enter the store. He would never find out what Percy was up to otherwise, and he could always claim he was lost if he was questioned. He pushed his hair down onto his forehead – he didn't want to get recognized, and removed his glasses. This was the best disguise he could think of on the spot. Opening the door quietly, he slid in. The store was mercifully large, and the only two employees seemed to be the one talking to Percy and one other, who was attending to a witch with long fingernails that were painted black and red. Like Percy, she too had a hood that covered her hair. Harry slipped next to her, and strained to catch Percy's conversation with the shifty-eyed wizard. 

"Best I could do", the wizard was saying, handing a small dark bottle over. "That's 500 Galleons you owe me". 

Percy handed over a bag to the shopkeeper without comment. Where did Percy get 500 Galleons from, Harry wondered, amazed. The Weasleys were not rich, and 500 Galleons was an enormous sum of money. 

"… need more", Percy was murmuring quietly. "Can't figure this stuff out, we go through it so fast…"

"… illegal… difficult to find a supplier…", the wizard rejoined. "… don't see you try to get some yourself, do you? No one wants to lead a cursed life…"

Harry had heard enough. His brain churning, he walked out of the store quickly. What could Percy be buying that was so expensive? And so difficult to get? He cast his mind about, trying to think of expensive portion ingredients. Hermione would know, he thought, but I can't tell either Hermione or Ron that Percy was buying something illegal, I don't want to get him in trouble. He hurried towards Gambol and Japes, thinking about what the wizard had said. 

"_No one wants to lead a cursed life…_", he had said. The only thing Harry knew that would cause a cursed life was killing a unicorn, and drinking its blood. What could Percy want with unicorn blood?" He tried to think of what Firenze, the centaur had told him in his first year. 

_"…a monstrous thing, to slay a unicorn. Only one who has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, would commit such a crime. The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You have slain something pure and defenseless to save yourself, and you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips"_

The only person that Harry knew of who had actually used unicorn blood was Voldemort. He had used it to keep himself alive until he could steal the Sorcerer's Stone. Was it really unicorn blood that Percy had bought? Harry shuddered. He thought of the unicorn Malfoy and he had found in the Forbidden Forest, its legs sticking out at odd angles, so beautiful, but so sad. And he refused to that believe Percy would buy unicorn blood. Percy was ambitious, sure, and Harry was sure he would do a lot of things if it meant he could get ahead at the Ministry. He wanted to be powerful. But there was nothing wrong with that. He would not do something evil – Harry was sure of it. He desperately wanted to be sure of it. 

…

Harry made his way back to Florean Fortesceau's Ice Cream Parlor. He had tried to find the Weasley twins, but his mind was in a daze, and he didn't search for them much. Hermione and Ron were sitting outside in the sun, but they weren't talking to each other. There was a thick air of tension surrounding them. Seeing Harry, they both jumped to their feet. 

"I'm going to try to find my parents", Hermione mumbled, and rushed out, heading in the direction of the Leaky Cauldron. Harry turned to Ron, who was looking glum. "What happened?", he asked, trying to sound sympathetic, but laughing at Ron's expression.

"I can't believe she visited Krum over the holidays", Ron burst out. "What does she see in him anyway?"

"Come on, Ron, he's only an internationally famous Seeker. Besides, he always seemed nice. Just a little quiet."

"Great. Thanks, Harry", Ron said moodily. "That's all I need, both my best friends becoming founding members of the Viktor Krum Fan Club."

"Cheer up, Ron", Harry replied soothingly. "After all, Krum's not in school with Hermione the whole year, is he? You are. "

Ron brightened. "There is something to that", he admitted. "Come on, let's find Mum and Dad, go get your stuff and head back home". 

…

It was just after dinner, and Harry was sitting at the dining table, trying to summon enough energy to get up. Dinner had been delicious, and Harry had eaten way too much. The conversation had been lively and cheerful until Ron suddenly sank to his knees and proposed marriage to Hermione at the table. Hermione had turned pink, Fred and George had burst out laughing, Ginny was giggling and Harry who had really felt for Ron, still couldn't stop a chuckle from escaping. Only Mrs. Weasley was not amused. "I'm ashamed of you two!", she yelled at Fred and George, as Mr. Weasley whipping out his wand, pointed it at Ron and spoke - "Finite Incantum". Ron turned fiery red as he slumped back in his seat and glared at Fred and George. "Almost fully trained wizards and you waste your time with pranks like this… why can't you be more like Bill or Percy?", Mrs. Weasley continued ranting. "Off to bed, and I don't want to hear a whisper out of you two till the morning." 

Ron mumbled an embarrassed apology to Hermione. Harry turned to Mrs. Weasley, and asked innocently about Percy. "What's Percy doing these days?"

Mr. Weasley had a frown on his face, but Mrs. Weasley beamed. "He's in France for the Ministry, dear.", she said fondly. "Something about International Cooperation. I think he's soothing some ruffled feathers because Hogwarts won the Triwizard Cup…" At this, Harry had a sudden coughing fit. He didn't think Mrs. Weasley would lie to him, and he was sure that it _had_ been Percy he had seen in Knockturn Alley. So that could only mean Percy was lying to his parents. Suddenly, all Harry's doubts about Percy, which he had pushed to the back of his mind, came flooding back. What would Percy do for power and glory? Would he join Voldemort?

Ron was inclined to be very quiet after dinner. He was still embarrassed about the proposal of marriage. "Wait till I get my hands on Fred and George", he said angrily. "Honestly, I agree with my mom sometimes, that trick was just too much… Hermione must think I'm a total idiot!"

"It was just a trick, Ron, I'm sure Hermione doesn't think any such thing.", Harry said. Ron was looking upset, and still mortified at the memory of proposing to Hermione. "Harry, can you go talk to her?"

"And say what?", Harry asked. He was comfortable, and slightly sleepy. 

"Make something up, Harry. Just check on her, you know… say something good about me…"

"Ok", Harry said reluctantly. He didn't see the point of the whole thing, but Ron looked anxious. "I'll talk to her…"

He made his way down the stairs and knocked on Ginny's door. Ginny opened it, grinning. "Pretty funny, wasn't it?", she asked Harry. "Let me guess - Ron sent you to talk to Hermione?"

"How did you know?", Harry asked surprised. "Because Hermione wanted me to go talk to Ron…", Ginny replied, rolling her eyes. "Make sure he is alright… Crazy, these two. Go on, she's awake. I'm off to comfort Ron…"

Harry made his way inside the room. Hermione was sitting on the edge of her bed. "I am going to kill Fred and George", she said angrily. "That's exactly what Ron said.", Harry said, chuckling. "You alright?"

"I'm fine, but Fred and George are in trouble…", Hermione said, still angry. "What a stupid trick to play!"

"I thought it was pretty funny", Harry said mildly, and then ran from the room as Hermione threw a pillow at him. He made his way downstairs laughing, in all the commotion, he had quite forgotten to fill Hedwig's bowl of water. Weird bubbling noises came from Fred and George's room, as Harry passed their door. They didn't seem too perturbed over being sent to their room, Harry thought. He grinned. An outright war with Ron and Hermione on one side, and Fred and George on the other ought to liven up his school year …

He was making his way out of the kitchen, when he heard a voice. It was Mr. Weasley. He sounded upset and angry. 

"What the hell were you doing in Knockturn Alley?", he asked. For a minute, Harry stood there, his heart pounding, thinking he had been seen. Then he realized that Mr. Weasley was facing the fireplace, and talking to Percy's head in the flames. 

"I had my reasons.", Percy replied. "Some of what I do, I can't tell even you about."

"You were seen.", Mr. Weasley replied, and now he just sounded tired. "Percy, you are walking a dangerous line… What you are doing could win you fame and fortune, indeed. But it makes you valuable to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. I don't approve of the whole thing, not at all. Maybe you don't realize this, but this is how young Barty Crouch decided to join You-Know-Who."

"Yes, I've heard that before.", Percy said impatiently. "I can't stay and chat – trust me, I know what I'm doing."

"Do you?", Mr.Weasley asked heavily. "I hope you do. It tore apart the Crouch family – I hope I will never have to do what Barty Crouch had to do to his own son…"

"Goodbye dad.", Percy said, and his face disappeared from the fireplace. Mr. Weasley just sat there staring at the fire. He suddenly looked very old and haggard. 

Harry's heart was pounding as he climbed the stairs towards Ron's room. He had seen and heard too much that day, and he couldn't make any sense of it. From what Mr. Weasley was saying, it sounded like Percy was working on something that would help Voldemort. And this, in some way, had to do with the unicorn blood that Percy had bought at Cavall and Clarks. Harry hadn't really thought about it, but where did Percy get 500 Galleons from? Ministry wizards were not paid _that_ well, and the Weasleys weren't rich by any means. Had he joined Voldemort for money?

Ron was asleep by the time Harry went back up, for which Harry was extremely grateful. His mind was going around in circles. He liked the Weasleys. Mrs. Weasley was like a mother to him, Mr. Weasley had always been kind to him and Ron was his best friend. But if Percy was doing something wrong, and Mr.Weasley didn't want to tell anyone and betray his own son, maybe Harry should tell someone. Prof. Dumbledore, perhaps? The last thing he wanted to see was a Voldemort made more powerful by Percy's doing. But was he ready to betray the people who were the closest family he had?

**Author's Notes** Thanks to all the people who reviewed. This chapter was written fast because I was so happy with the feedback I was getting. Special thanks to the people who pointed out things I missed - Mimi and Yoyo. If I've missed someone out, I'm sorry, I'm writing this in a bit of a hurry because I want to get my story uploaded. 

I forgot this section the first time - many thanks to Shirin who beta reads and edits my story, JKR, for creating this world in which I can fit my little story, and my English teacher in high school. (Who actually taught me to write.)

To the reviewer who asked when the Ruby of Karda was going to show up, (and I know it is my kid brother), soon. Watch for it, enjoy the story in the meanwhile.

Standard Disclaimer: Harry Potter and any other characters you recognise are the property of J.K.Rowling. I am making no money of this fanfic. 

The quote about Unicorn Blood is an excerpt from J.K.Rowling's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. 


	3. An Unusual Sorting

Chapter 3: An Unusual Sorting Chapter 3: An Unusual Sorting 

The next morning was pandemonium. Fred and George seemed intent to make their last year at Hogwarts memorable – Mrs. Weasley had to use the Summoning Charm repeatedly to rid them of trick toffees, the marriage proposal invention, and many other tricks. She was in a thoroughly bad mood when she was done – compounded by the fact that Mr. Weasley did nothing to help – and just seemed amused by Fred and George's tricks. 

But finally, they were off to London, in two cars Mr. Weasley had used his contacts at the Ministry to get. It wasn't the most pleasant of trips, Harry thought privately. Mrs. Weasley was still looking annoyed. Fred and George were sulking, and whispering something to each other, looking resentful. Harry was left to sit in silence, wishing he were in the other car. But both Ron and Hermione had flatly refused to travel in the same car as the Weasley twins. Ron was still rather embarrassed about last night, and he wasn't talking to either Fred or George. Hermione had looked grim and determined, rather like she had last year when she had an argument with Rita Skeeter, the Daily Prophet reporter. Harry shook his head. Last night, it looked like Hermione and Ron might team up and give Fred and George a taste of their own medicine. This morning though, it looked like they were just going to ignore each other. Pity, he thought. There was something cheering about looking forward to a year of pranks.

With all the delays, they made it to Platform Nine and Three Quarters with just seconds to spare before the Hogwarts Express left. The platform was empty of students; groups of parents were standing around in small tense groups. Harry had no time to take in any of this; he was just concerned with getting on the train. He was in no hurry to repeat the entrance he made in his second year – when Ron and he had flown to Hogwarts in a car enchanted to fly by Mr. Weasley. Apart from the fact that Harry was sure he would get expelled if he ever did something like that again – he didn't dare face Mrs. Weasley, who seemed to see red at any mention of a prank.

They all clambered on the last compartment, which was mercifully empty. Harry, Ron and Hermione settled down. The twins promptly disappeared to find Lee Jordan – Ginny mumbled something about finding her friends, and left too. Ron and Hermione seemed to be over the embarrassment of last night, they were talking normally to each other. 

"Did you notice how everyone looks afraid, almost?", Hermione began, once they had stowed their trunks. 

"I think word has got around – that You-Know-Who has been resurrected.", Ron said somberly. Harry looked at Ron. "So where were you last summer?", he asked. The question had been on the tip of his tongue for days. He was glad they were on the train – he could finally get an answer. 

"It was Prof. Dumbledore", Ron explained, casting a cautious eye at the door of the compartment. Hermione got up, opened it, looked up and down at the corridor, and came back. "No one's around", she said. "Looks very quiet." 

"The last time You-Know-Who was on the rise,", Ron continued, "his supporters had infiltrated the Ministry – and Prof. Dumbledore wanted to make sure that this time around, we would be better prepared. So he asked us to spend part of the summer at the Armstrongs." Seeing Harry's confused look, he added, "The Armstrongs are an old Wizarding family. Very powerful and influential – connections all over the place in the Ministry. Their children are a mixed bag – they both go to Hogwarts, the eldest daughter Susan is in Ravenclaw, she's a third year this year, the younger son is in Slytherin, second year. Prof. Dumbledore thought they might be someone You-Know-Who would use to spy for him – either directly or indirectly. And he wanted to scout out which way their loyalties would lie, just in case. We were all houseguests of theirs in their summer home in the South of France. Dad and Mom were collecting information for Prof. Dumbledore – we enjoyed the sun."

"Why didn't your mom want anyone to know?", Hermione asked. "And why couldn't you send us an owl?" Harry put in.

"We were their house-guests – she didn't want anything to get out while we were still there – it was too dangerous. The owls got banned for a far more stupid reason – Percy was using the owls all the time – not just Hermes, but Pig, and even Erroll. And Fred and George were running their joke shop out of there too – order forms flying in and out all the time – so Mom just banned owls finally." He shrugged. "I tried to tell her I needed to write to you both, but I think she was also worried that I might let something slip by accident to you. So, no owls."

Harry leaned back in his seat. All the while, he had been imagining horrible things happening to the Weasleys, and it turned out to be something this silly. He should have been more confident in Prof. Dumbledore – he thought and dismissed the nagging feeling in the back of his mind that Ron's explanation had left him with. "So, did you find out anything about the Armstrongs?" he asked. 

"I think Mum and Dad did", Ron replied. "I don't know what it is, though. They wouldn't discuss it when any of us were around."

Hermione shook her head briskly. "Now that that's out of the way,", she said, "Did you finish your homework, Ron? What was your Dark Arts research about?"

Harry groaned. Hermione had nagged him into writing an uninspired account of Dark Arts detection mechanisms. He had pieced together well known facts about Sneakascopes, Foe Glasses, and other devices, had even included a 6 inches of parchment on Mad-Eye Moody's magical eye, and tried his level best to get it to the required 5 feet length. He wasn't proud of his work – but the whole topic had left him uninterested. He had little desire to do any extensive Dark Arts research. He had all the Dark Arts knowledge he could ever want, he thought. Watching Voldemort being reborn had stolen any desire he ever had to know more about the Dark Arts. 

Surprisingly, Ron looked animated. "I looked up Werewolves.", he said. "How one becomes a werewolf, what the differences are between werewolves that are bitten, and those born to werewolf parents. I was hoping I could find something that told me how to cure a Werewolf – but I couldn't. Still, it was easy work, and very interesting."

Both Hermione and Harry looked interested. They were all thinking of Prof. Lupin, their Defense against Dark Arts professor. "I wonder if that would be possible", Hermione said thoughtfully. "After all, if one can become a werewolf, it stands to reason there would be something to reverse that, right? But I couldn't find anything that cured a Vampire either… I just think we aren't looking hard enough, though. I mean, a lot of wizards won't have anything to do with a werewolf or a vampire, they would be hardly likely to spend time looking for a cure, when it is much easier to shun them as Dark Creatures."

"Hermione, please tell me this is not some new campaign you are going to start", Ron groaned. "Honestly, wasn't S.P.E.W enough?"

"You have to stand up for what you believe is right", Hermione stated, her eyes flashing dangerously. "You have to make a stand, Ron. I can't believe you support the ill-treatment of Vampires and Werewolves."

Ron and Hermione looked like they were going to start bickering yet again, so Harry stood up quickly. "I'm going to take a walk down the train, and see if I can find either Seamus or Neville. You both want to come?"

Ron got up. "Yes, let's go find them. Come on, Hermione, we need to talk to Seamus too."

"Why?" Harry asked. 

Hermione smiled widely. "Why, he is going to help us get even with Fred and George", she said. "You didn't think we'd let them off that easy, did you?"

…

Seamus had been quite happy to help, he was quite excited about playing a trick on Fred and George. "Lets go find Dean", he suggested. "He likes jokes too – he might have some good ideas."

So the lot of them set off down the train corridor. They found Dean all the way up in the front of the train. He was talking excitedly to Neville, Parvati and Lavender. "Check this out!", Dean exclaimed. "I can't get into the compartment ahead of us."

"So someone's locked the door", Hermione replied. "Nothing to get excited over, is there?"

"But it isn't locked!", Neville answered. "We thought that in the beginning – but the lunch witch just came out of there, and we tried to go in, because Trevor is lost, and I was looking for him. And this is the strange part, the door opened, but all we can see is a golden haze. But it is solid, my hand wouldn't pass through it."

Ron must have been thinking what Harry was, because he said "You found that out by yourself, Neville? That's really brave of you."

Neville looked embarrassed. "Dean, Parvati and Lavender were with me too", he said, as Ron nudged Harry unobtrusively. "I think Neville wants to look brave in front of the girls", he mumbled out of the side of his mouth. Harry chuckled to himself. 

"Let's go look", he suggested. He went out to the corridor and tried the door. It wouldn't open. The others crowded behind him, as he tried jiggling the handle again. "Move aside", Dean said, "Let me try." 

"Did you open it the first time, or did the witch with the lunch cart leave it open?", Hermione wanted to know. "No, the lunch witch left it slightly ajar", Neville replied. "So maybe it just locked shut?" Hermione reasoned. She took out her wand, pointed it at the handle, and said "Alohomora". Nothing happened. 

Ron had in the meanwhile, bent down and was trying to peek under the door. "This is strange", he said. "It looks really hazy in there, as far as I can see. Why would it be hazy?"

"Is it a golden haze?", Harry started asking, but he was interrupted by the witch with the lunch cart. "Can I get through", she asked. Parvati quickly said "Can you help? We can't seem to get this door open."

"Maybe it is stuck. They stick sometimes.", the witch replied. She tried the handle, which turned and the door swung open. She continued along the corridor. Ron, Hermione and Harry had in the meanwhile tried to enter the compartment. But, just as Neville had described, they were blocked by a hazy, golden wall.

"See? I've never heard of a spell that can do this" Dean said. Hermione nodded. "Yes, it feels like a force-field of some kind. I've never heard of something like this, either".

"What if you tried ending the spell?" Harry asked, as he took out his own wand and muttered "Finite Incantatum". Nothing happened, if anything, the golden haze somehow seemed less hazy, and more solid. 

"What if it just needs more power?", Hermione said. "Let's all try it at once. On the count of three. One… two… three…"

At three, all of them yelled "Finite Incantatum" at the same time. This time it was clear, the golden haze was definitely getting more solid. They were all standing, staring at the wall, when all of a sudden they heard a cool voice behind the door say "Bhas. Ghul Jaao." The door dissolved. 

"Yes!", Ron yelled triumphantly, but his voice trailed off. 

A woman was standing in the compartment. She had dark skin, black hair, and a look of icy fury on her face. In the corner of the compartment, sat a young girl, who also had black hair worn in two pigtails. 

"What would it take for me to get some privacy in this train?", she asked, in a voice that shook with barely suppressed anger. 

They stammered apologies and hastily backed out of the compartment. As they made their way over to their compartment, Neville asked in a small voice, "Is she going to be the new Defense Against Dark Arts teacher?"

Dean nodded somberly. "No other vacancies, are there? We are in for it this year. She's almost as bad as Snape, honestly!"

Hermione looked thoughtful. "I wonder if that's her daughter?" she asked. "Did any of you take a look at that girl? They looked alike."

Harry hadn't noticed, and neither had Ron, but Parvati and Lavender agreed with Hermione. "Maybe a new first-year?"

"And the spell she said – I've never heard of that", Hermione added. "Bhas. Gul Jo?, was that what she said? I'm going to look it up…"

They speculated on the new DADA teacher for a little while, and then talk turned to the practical jokes. Parvati and Lavender were inclined to be disapproving at first, but they soon got excited by the talk of pranks. Neville looked rather worried and said "My grandmother will be furious if she finds out…", but then he grinned. "Getting Fred and George, though, that would be worth it." They roared with laughter at Harry's description of the twins' new trick, He left out that they had tried it on Ron and Hermione, and instead told them how Piers Polkiss had got into trouble proposing to every girl in his class. Time passed pleasantly until the train pulled into the station. 

…

With the sound of Hagrid's "First years, over here" ringing in his ears, Harry got into a carriage with Ron and Hermione, leaving their trunks on the train. Hermione sniffed disapprovingly. "House-Elves", she said in a disgusted tone. Ron and Harry both ignored that, they didn't want Hermione to start up S.P.E.W (Society for the Promotion of Elvish Welfare) again, instead they tried to look for the new Defense Against Dark Arts teacher or her daughter. But there was no sign of either of them. 

They pulled up at the entrance, and made their way to the Great Hall. Fred and George were there, they were talking to their friend Lee Jordan in low voices. Fred and George flashed Ron identical cautious smiles, and George held out his hand. "Sorry, Ron. We wouldn't have tested the trick on you if we realized you would be this angry about it. Friends?" 

"Yes, we are sorry, Hermione.", piped in Fred. "Really. Awful bad judgment there…"

Ron and Hermione looked at each other, before Hermione shook hands with George rather formally. "Let's forget about it.", she said. Ron shook hands with Fred. "Alright, Friends."

"Look, the teachers are making their way in", Harry whispered, and quickly found a seat. The others did likewise, and turned towards the High Table to watch. The witch they had met on the train was with the teachers. Harry looked at Snape. Usually, Snape hated all the Defense Against Dark Arts teachers with a passion, it was rumored that he had been after the Defense Against Dark Arts job for years. But Snape was studiously avoiding looking at her. Almost like the way he looked at Prof. Moody, Harry thought. Is he afraid of her?

Fred and George, in the meanwhile, were wondering who the new teacher was. Ron quickly filled them in about the events on the train. "Ooh", Fred said. "She looks tougher than Prof. McGonagall", he commented. "Its time we had a good Defense Against Dark Arts teacher – I mean, what with You-Know-Who and all."

Everyone who could hear that looked fearful, but Harry could see many heads nodding to that. It seemed like most the Gryffindors had accepted that Voldemort had returned, and they were trying to be brave about it, and learn how to stand up to him. Harry's heart filled with pride for his house. 

Up at the High Table, Prof. Dumbledore was standing, and clearing his throat for silence. He was beaming at the tables of students. "Welcome!" he said. "The Sorting Ceremony is about to start, so I ask that you keep quiet." 

Harry looked around at the other house tables. He could catch a glimpse of Cho at the Ravenclaw table, she was talking animatedly to someone sitting next to her. At the Slytherin table, Malfoy was sitting, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle, with a sneering look on his face. He said something to Crabbe and Goyle, who laughed on cue. Harry turned away quickly. Every time he saw Malfoy, he was filled with rage. "DeathEater scum", Ron said in disgust, noticing where Harry had been looking. 

"Shh. Look. The first-years are filing in", Hermione said disapprovingly. They turned to look. A neat line of first years were making their way in, lead by Prof. McGonagall. They lined up in front of the High Table. As she had done the year Harry got sorted, Prof. McGonagall placed a small stool in front of the line of students, and placed the School Sorting Hat on it. She then made her way to the High Table, where she sat down. 

Everyone was looking at the Sorting Hat. As they were looking, a hole near the brim widened to become a mouth, and the Hat began to sing,

Oh, I may look sad and old,  
And patched and frayed and torn,  
But inside, I have a heart of gold,  
For, the moment I am worn,  
I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat,  
The magical, mysterious Thinking Lid,  
And if you ask – what means that?  
I say to you – I thee bid,  
Try me on – I'll read your mind,  
And tell you what House you will be in,  
It could be Gryffindor, you may find,  
Or Ravenclaw, Hufflepuf, or Slytherin.  
Gryffindors are brave, with nerves of steel,  
They are daring and bold,  
And if you are Sorted there, you might feel,  
Rather special, I'm told.  
Ravenclaws are clever, witty and wise,  
If you go there, you will see,  
Sharp minds, ooh - that's nice,  
And good company they will be.  
Hufflepufs work hard,  
They are patient and just,  
These are virtues they guard,  
And so too you must.  
The folks at Slytherin,  
Are cunning and devious,  
Above all, they like to win,  
That's rather obvious.  
So go ahead, do not fear,  
I don't bite, I promise you that,  
What House will you hold dear?  
Find out, for I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat!

A storm of applause greeted the Sorting Hat's song, and it bowed first to the High Table, then to the four House tables. It then sat still on its stool as Professor McGonagall stood up and started calling out names. 

"Archer, Gregory". A small boy with curly blond hair stepped forward, sat on the stool and put the hat on. 

"RAVENCLAW", the Sorting Hat announced, to the cheers of the Ravenclaw table. 

"Blake, Sophie". At this, a scared looking girl ran to sit on the stool.

"SLYTHERIN", screamed the Sorting Hat. At this, the Slytherins cheered too. 

"Durgin, Anna". 

And so it continued, until Prof. McGonagall called out "Manohar, Priya".

"That's her. The girl in the train.", Ron said excitedly. "Check it out, the new DADA teacher is looking interested.". That was rather an understatement, when Prof. McGonagall had called out the name, the woman had leaned forward, and was now staring intently at her daughter. 

The girl stepped forward, put the Hat on her head, and sat on the stool. Moments ticked by. People all over the Hall were starting to notice the resemblance between the woman in the High Table and the girl on the stool. Harry could see Malfoy over in the Slytherin table whisper something intently to Crabbe and Goyle. 

The clock ticked on. It had now been almost 5 minutes since the girl had put on the Hat. She wasn't looking worried, though, she looked calm and serene. The same could not be said of her mother, Harry noticed that she was still regarding her daughter with the same intent stare, and now she looked rather tense. Oddly enough, so did Prof. Dumbledore, who generally always looked cheerful. He was regarding Priya Manohar somberly. He bent forward, and said something quietly to Prof. McGonagall. 

6 minutes…, 7 minutes…, 8 minutes… - the students in the Great Hall were growing restless. Whispers started to break out everywhere. "I've never seen it take so long to Sort someone," Fred said quietly to Ron and Harry. "The Hat has always Sorted someone in a couple of minutes."

"Look!" Hermione whispered. "Prof. Dumbledore is getting up."

And indeed, Prof. Dumbledore was getting up. He walked up to the stool, and said something quietly to the girl, who went to stand at the end of the line of students. Then he placed the Sorting Hat on his head. There was total silence in the Great Hall, everyone was watching what Prof. Dumbledore was doing. After standing with the Sorting Hat on for a minute or so, he took the Hat off his head. He nodded to Prof. McGonagall, who looked suddenly worried. 

"Miss. Manohar will not be Sorted by the Hat. We will determine what House she will be in at the end of the Sorting Ceremony.", she announced, raising a hand for silence in response to the pandemonium that had broken out at this announcement. "Silence, please." 

But the Great Hall was in an uproar. It seemed that no one present had heard of something like this. Harry could see some Slytherin students on their feet, shouting something angrily. Strangely, though, Malfoy was sitting quietly, looking at Priya Manohar with the same intense look her mother had given her. He looked very thoughtful. 

Hermione, in the meanwhile, was telling Ron and anyone else listening that she had never heard of the Sorting Hat unable to Sort a student. "And it says in Hogwarts, A History that the Hat has always Sorted the students into their Houses from the time Hogwarts was founded.", she said. 

Harry looked at Prof. Dumbledore. He didn't look puzzled, but he still looked rather tense. "Look at Prof. Dumbledore", he said. "Its odd that he doesn't look surprised – isn't it? He looks almost like he knew this was going to happen."

"Neither does her mother", Hermione added. "Or Prof. McGonagall. That's weird – why would she not be Sorted?"

"Maybe she's a Squib, and she just got into Hogwarts because her mother was going to teach here", Fred started, but shut up quickly as Prof. McGonagall shot sparks from her wand. 

"Silence, please.", she said, looking annoyed. "Omar, Syd…"

Syd Omar became a Ravenclaw, and the rest of the Sorting Ceremony continued without incident. Priya Manohar was still standing at the end of the line. When the last student, "Young, Penny" was sorted into Gryffindor, Prof. Dumbledore stood up. 

"Miss. Manohar will join Gryffindor", he announced. The rest of the Houses booed and hissed, and most of the Gryffindor students looked bewildered. They weren't quite sure if they should be happy that Priya Manohar had become a Gryffindor. Hermione clapped hard, though, and she glared at Ron and Harry, who started clapping too, as Priya made her way over to the Gryffindor table. Fred cleared a spot for her, and congratulated her. Priya smiled calmly, she seemed completely unaffected by what had happened. "Thank you", she said clearly. 

"Start of term announcements", Prof. Dumbledore announced, and they turned towards him to listen. "Firstly, for the benefit of the First-Years, no one is to enter the forest on the Hogwarts grounds. It is off-limits to all students". 

"Secondly", he continued, "I have great pleasure in introducing Prof. Lakshmi Manohar, who has agreed to teach Defense Against Dark Arts." The students clapped politely. "Prof. Manohar is visiting us from India this year, and I hope everyone will learn from her considerable Dark Arts knowledge. She will be teaching you how witches and wizards from the East defend themselves against the Dark Arts. "

"Is that your mother, then?", George asked Priya, who nodded. She didn't seem excited that her mother would be teaching. Hermione looked excited. 

Prof. Dumbledore cleared his throat. "The Fifth, Sixth and Seventh years must have noticed that the pages of your Defense Against Dark Arts textbook are blank. You would have also signed a magical contract stating that you will not share the book or lend the book to anyone. I don't have to remind you, I hope that a magical contract is binding and irrevocable. The consequences of breaking it are many."

"On a lighter note, the House Quidditch Championship is back this year, and Madam Hooch will conduct Quidditch Trials in two weeks. Please sign up with Madam Hooch if you are interested."

"Now, I'm sure you are all hungry, so let's eat!"

The dishes in front of them filled with food – chicken, steak and kidney pie, mashed potatoes, greens, steak, roast pork, and much more. Harry was starving, his meal on the train long digested, and he helped himself to everything, and started eating. Hermione was trying to carry on a conversation with Priya Manohar, he noticed, but Priya was very quiet. She answered when she was spoken to, but she didn't seem in the mood for conversation. 

After dinner, they all made their way upstairs. As they climbed the stairs, Harry realized that no one was talking to Priya. Lavender and Parvati were eyeing her suspiciously, and the new first-years were ignoring her totally. He felt sorry for her. That had been his fear too, he remembered, wondering what would happen if the Sorting Hat couldn't Sort him in his First Year. Then Ron said something to him, and he forgot all about her. She'd manage, he thought. We all do. 

**Author's Notes** Thanks to all the people who reviewed.

Many thanks to Shirin who beta reads and edits my story, JKR, for creating this world in which I can fit my little story, and my English teacher in high school. (Who actually taught me to write.)

Standard Disclaimer: Harry Potter and any other characters you recognise are the property of J.K.Rowling. I am making no money of this fanfic. 


	4. The Defense Against Dark Arts Professor

Chapter 4: The Defense Against Dark Arts Professor Chapter 4: The Defense Against Dark Arts Professor 

Harry wasn't thinking of Priya Manohar the next morning, he was far too busy. Prof. McGonagall had given them their class schedules, and looking at his schedule, Harry thought his next free hour would be around Christmas. Ron was busy groaning about his schedule too; Hermione, on the other hand, looked happy. 

"Arithmancy, I can't wait", she said happily, as she ate breakfast. "What do you have this morning?"

"Divination", Ron answered grumpily. "Transfiguration after that, and then Potions with the Slytherins. My morning goes from bad to worse."

Harry rose. "But we have Defense Against Dark Arts this afternoon", he pointed out. "Let's go and get the morning over with."

They made their way to the Divination classroom. Even though it was a bright and sunny day, Prof. Trelawney's classroom was as stuffy as usual, with a heavy smell of incense in the air. Harry noticed that Lavender and Parvati looked excited. He shook his head privately. Even though Parvati had been made a Prefect, she was still inclined to get very silly in Divination. 

"Welcome", a voice cooed, and Prof. Trelawney, bangles jingling on her arms, stepped into view. "Welcome. This year, we are going to focus on reading the stars. When read properly, the stars can foretell the future, and give us vital information, information that will help in our fight against evil." She paused for a moment. "Also, I have seen in my crystal bowl that star gazing will feature prominently in your O.W.L.s." 

Both Lavender and Parvati looked deeply impressed, but next to him, Ron rolled his eyes. "I'm glad we have Defense Against Dark Arts to look forward to", he whispered to Harry. Unfortunately, Prof. Trelawney, who had chosen that moment to sweep next to them, heard Ron. Her lips tightened. 

"I never thought I'd see the day when we would allow someone like Prof. Manohar to teach at Hogwarts. And to let that daughter of hers study in this school!", she said, her eyes flashing. "I warned Prof. Dumbledore about this. The power of the Ruby, unleashed! I can't believe he would ignore the prophecies and warnings of the stars in such a way."

"What's wrong with Prof. Manohar?", Lavender asked in a hushed voice, and the rest of the class looked wildly curious. But Prof. Trelawney just looked angry. She dismissed the class shortly thereafter, declaring she was too upset to teach. 

"Most mysterious", Ron remarked as they made their way down the stairs. "I mean, I know Prof. Trelawney is crazy, but still, she sounded pretty angry. What prophecy was she talking about, do you think? And what did she say, the power of the Ruby, unleashed? What's that?"

"I don't know.", Harry said, watching Lavender and Parvati from the corner of his eye. They were whispering intently to each other and Harry could guess what they were discussing. Evidently both Prof. Manohar and Priya were going to get the cold shoulder from Lavender and Parvati. "Come on, Prof. Mc.Gonagall will less than thrilled if we are late for Transfiguration."

Transfiguration passed uneventfully, although both Ron and Harry looked dismayed at the amount of work they were expected to do this year. Hermione looked serious and intent, no doubt she was creating study schedules in her head already. Potions was also pleasantly uneventful, apart from shooting Harry a look of deep dislike, Snape left the Gryffindors alone, and lectured about the many uses of Dragon Blood. 

Harry was looking forward to his Defense Against Dark Arts class, and judging from the crowd heading early to the classroom after lunch, so were the rest of the Gryffindors. Hermione had tried to read up on Eastern Magic at the Library, but she couldn't find any books that dealt with it at all. "Madam Pince told me that the Eastern witches and wizards are very reclusive.", she said. "This is the first time she's heard of an Indian witch actually teaching Eastern Magic outside India. We are so lucky; I'm dying to see what's in our textbooks too."

Ron rolled his eyes at Harry; Hermione was always so enthusiastic about her schoolwork. "I just hope she isn't as mean as she was on the train", he said. "She was downright spooky, wasn't she? When she uttered that strange spell?"

They found seats in the middle of the class, both Ron and Harry flatly refusing to sit in the first row. They wanted to sit right at the back, but Hermione wouldn't let them. "So, are you still planning to play a prank on Fred and George?", Harry asked, as they waited for Prof. Manohar to show up. "Of course", Ron grinned. Seamus, who was sitting next to Harry, chuckled. "Yes, we have some things planned", he said. "Fred and George aren't getting off that easily."

Prof. Manohar swept in at that moment, so Harry couldn't find out what kind of tricks were in the works. Silence greeted her entry. 

"Good afternoon", she said crisply. "I am Prof. Manohar, and I will be teaching you Defense Against Dark Arts."

"No doubt,", she continued, "that you are concerned about the rise of Lord Voldemort." Ignoring the gasps in the classroom that greeted that, she went on. "Prof. Dumbledore thinks, and I agree with him, that Eastern Magic is a powerful way to combat Dark Powers."

"Why?", Seamus interrupted. 

"Because of its unfamiliarity.", Prof. Manohar responded. "I'm willing to wager that none of you had heard about Eastern Magic before Prof. Dumbledore hired me. Eastern Magic has different roots from the magic you have learned so far, and you can do things with Eastern Magic that you can't with Western Magic. Now, Eastern Magic takes many years to master, and in India, students are apprenticed to a teacher for 18 years. So, obviously, there are limits on what I'm going to be able to teach you this year. But we should have time for a thorough grounding. Any questions?"

There were many hands in the air. "Mr. Finnigan, let's start with you."

"Why are the pages of our textbook blank?", Seamus wanted to know.

"To prevent this Advanced knowledge from falling into the wrong hands.", Prof. Manohar replied. "Witches and Wizards who have studied Eastern Magic are highly secretive. We guard our knowledge zealously. I am the first person in my generation to teach Eastern Magic outside India. We do not wish to reveal our powers to all."

"That really doesn't make sense", Ron whispered to Hermione and Harry. "I mean, if I was so concerned about this stuff falling into the wrong hands, I wouldn't teach it to any of the Slytherins."

Harry shushed him up, because Neville was asking a question that had occurred to Harry too, and he wanted to hear the answer. 

"If we only have time for a grounding in Eastern Magic, is that going to be enough to combat the Dark Arts?"

"Excellent question, Mr. Longbottom.", Prof. Manohar smiled, and it transformed her face. She looked warm, friendly and even pretty when she smiled. "The reason I think Eastern Magic will be an effective tool against the Dark Arts is that it is powered by your resolve. If you are committed to fighting the Dark Powers, the Eastern Magic you learn will amplify your magical ability."

"Also,", she continued, "Eastern Magic is organized differently from Western Magic. There isn't very much difference between what you will learn in one year or eighteen, when it comes to Defense Against Dark Arts. In our higher years, we learn how to combat hunger so we can go many months without eating, we learn how to resist the power of elements, so we can walk across red hot coals without being burnt, and we learn powerful Weather Magic, that help us create storms, rain, and even earthquakes at will. We will not cover any of that in this class."

"Cool", Dean Thomas said, echoing the feelings of the whole class. Even Parvati and Lavender who had determined to dislike Prof. Manohar looked impressed.

"Now, we just have time for a quick demonstration of one of the spells you will learn next class. This is a basic protective spell – it creates a Force Field, if you will, and prevents anything or anyone from getting through. I'd like a volunteer, please."

Most of the class had their hands in the air. "Yes, Mr. Weasley, can you step forward, please?" Ron, who was looking excited and rather apprehensive, walked out to the front. 

Prof. Manohar lifted her hands, and chanted some words. Shivers raced down Harry's spine, as a golden glow began to suffuse the room. Something that could best be described as a golden barrier surrounded Prof. Manohar. It was translucent though, Harry could still see the Professor. "Now try throwing a curse at me", she told Ron. 

"What kind of curse?", Ron asked nervously.

"Anything at all.", Prof. Manohar replied. "Body binds are good ones to try. I'd suggest the Cruciatus Curse, but that's illegal in this country."

Ron pointed his wand at Prof. Manohar, and said, "Petrificus Totalus".

The golden haze around Prof. Manohar solidified slightly for a moment, but that was the only effect of Ron's spell. 

"Try something else.", Prof. Manohar suggested. "Can anyone think of a spell for Mr. Weasley to try?"

Suggestions were thrown from all ends of the room. "Stupify". "Expelliarmus". Even "Wingardium Leviosa".

Again Ron lifted his wand, and tried shouting "Stupify".

This time, the golden haze definitely stayed solid for about 20 seconds, before it became hazy again. But, there was no effect apart from that. Prof. Manohar had made no attempt to block the spell, but she stood unaffected inside her Force Field. 

"Bhas. Ghul Jaao", Prof. Manohar said, and the golden haze dissolved. 

"It is a useful spell", she said. "It will not block everything, of course, if you were all to try directing a curse at me at the same time, I dare say the Force-Field will shatter. Again, how powerful the field you create is depends on your resolve and strength of mind, more than anything else. Many weak minded witches and wizards are not capable of producing a good Force-Field."

"We will practice this in the next class. Your textbooks will reveal the incantation needed to create the Force Field, and tell you more about the theory behind producing a good Force Field. Please read that chapter as homework for the next class. Also, Prof. McGonagall will be addressing you now, so remain in the classroom."

And with that, she disappeared from the classroom.

A hubbub broke out at her spectacular exit. "I wonder how she does that?", Hermione speculated. "You can't Apparate in Hogwarts."

"That was the same spell!", Ron said excitedly. "She used the same spell in the train, didn't she?"

Hermione didn't reply, she had opened her Defense Against Dark Arts textbook, and was reading the first chapter intently. 

"Wow", Seamus said. "That was amazing. I think that was the best Defense Against Dark Arts class ever, wasn't it? Even better than Prof. Moody last year!"

…

They only had to wait five minutes before Prof. McGonagall entered the room. "I have an announcement", she said "about a new program we are starting at Hogwarts. This is an Apprenticeship program. Each of you will be assigned two subjects where you have shown promise, and you will work with the Professors to advance your knowledge in these subjects."

"Now some of you will wonder why you may not choose your own subjects", she continued, as Hermione's hand shot up to ask that question. Hermione, looking slightly embarrassed, lowered her hand. "This is a new program, and it will generate a lot of extra work for the Professors. We wish to distribute this workload evenly. I am quite aware that if we were to allow you to pick your subjects, that some Professors - say for instance Prof. Trelawney - would not get anything to do at all."

At this, Lavender and Parvati looked extremely annoyed, and Lavender spoke up rather bravely. "I would pick Divination.", she said. 

"Excellent, Miss. Brown.", Prof. McGonagall remarked rather wryly. "Let's get back to the subject of Apprenticeships. Each of you will work an evening a week on each of your subjects. The Apprenticeship program is not optional, you will all be required to take it. Are there any questions before I read out the list of subjects each of you will be taking?"

There were no questions, so Prof. McGonagall took out a roll of parchment from her robes, and started reading the list of subjects. Lavender got her wish, her two apprenticeships were to be in Divination and Astronomy. But she must have been one of the few students who were happy with their subjects. Harry was reasonably satisfied, he got Defense Against Dark Arts and Transfiguration, he was hoping he would get to take Advanced Quidditch, or even Care of Magical Creatures, but evidently, neither Madame Hooch or Hagrid were participating in the Apprenticeship program. 

However, Ron and Hermione were both dismayed by their subjects. Hermione was picked for Defense Against Dark Arts and Potions, and she looked positively aghast at the thought of spending an evening every week working with Snape. Ron looked even unhappier, he was picked for Defense Against Dark Arts and Divination. "An evening a week with that old bat!", he moaned. "Oh, why didn't I drop Divination last year?"

Harry sympathized intensely with both of them. He wasn't sure what would be worse, Potions with Snape, or Divination with Trelawney. He tried to cheer them up by reminding them that they would be together in Defense Against Dark Arts, but neither of them was very cheered. 

…

Ron and Hermione were free the rest of the afternoon, but Harry had to rush off to Quidditch meeting. Oliver Wood had graduated, and they were short a Keeper. They also needed to select a Captain. When Harry got to the Changing Room, he found Angelina, Katie and Alicia waiting. "Where are Fred and George, do you know?", Angelina asked. Harry shook his head. He had seen the twins briefly at lunch, they had looked engrossed in a conversation they were having with Lee Jordan, but he had not seen them since. 

Angelina was talking about her holidays as they waited for the Weasley twins, she had spent part of her summer break in Egypt. Harry found out that the Seventh Years had also been required to join the Apprenticeship program, and Angelina was picked for Defense Against Dark Arts and Potions. "I'm quite excited about Defense Against Dark Arts", she said. "We have a class tomorrow, is the new teacher any good?"

So Harry told them about his lesson. The three girls looked impressed. "I've heard of Force Fields, but they can usually block only small Hexes.", Katie commented. "Hers sounds quite powerful." 

"Wait", Alicia interrupted. "She didn't use a wand?"

"I hadn't thought about it till just now, but no, she didn't use a wand.", Harry said. "That's kind of odd, isn't it?"

"Not really. You can do some magic without a wand, that's generally how we find out if we are magic or not. Didn't you have something strange happen to you when you were younger that could only be because of magic?"

Harry thought back to the time, over four years back, when he had set loose a snake at the Zoo on Dudley."Yes, that's true. If you can do magic without a wand, though, why do we always use one?"

"Chiefly as a focus", George added. Fred and he just entered the Changing Room, and had clearly caught the last part of the conversation. "A wand amplifies magical ability – so you can always do more powerful spells with a wand. Why do you want to know, anyway?"

Harry explained how Prof. Manohar hadn't used a wand in the Defense Against Dark Arts class. Like the girls earlier, Fred and George looked impressed. "I can't wait for tomorrow's class", Fred said. 

"What subjects did you two get picked for?", Harry asked. 

Instantly their faces lengthened. "Potions", they said gloomily, "and Transfiguration. Between Snape and Mc.Gonagall, we won't have a moment's fun this year."

They continued chatting for a few minutes, then conversation turned towards selecting a Team Captain. "Angelina", both the twins said promptly, and Harry nodded, agreeing. Angelina was strict, yet fair and good-natured. She would make an excellent Captain. Both Katie and Alicia agreed, so, looking rather embarrassed, Angelina agreed to become the new Gryffindor Quidditch Captain. 

"We need to practice a lot", she said. "We are all rather out-of-touch, I'm afraid, with not playing last year at all. And we need to find a new Keeper. Trials are next week, but in the meanwhile, do you know anyone who would be a good Keeper?"

No one could think of anyone, so they resolved to get as many people to try out as possible. Angelina promised to talk to Madame Hooch and Prof. McGonagall also, she thought they might be of help. "After all,", she said, "Prof. McGonagall suggested you for the team, Harry, and we've never lost a match because of you."

It was Harry's turn to look rather embarrassed. It wasn't true, he had lost a match for the Gryffindors, when the Dementors had affected him, and Cedric had caught the Snitch, but thoughts of Cedric were painful. He shifted his attention to what Angelina was saying. 

"Ok, let's go practice."

…

It was late by the time they were finished practicing. Harry hurried inside to the Common Room, he was starving, he hoped Ron and Hermione had not finished supper. They were sitting by the fire, though. Hermione was deeply engrossed in a book that she told them she had got out of the library, it was called "Famous Dark Witches and Wizards of the 20th Century." Ron was still looking moody about the Divination Apprenticeship, but he cheered up when he heard about Quidditch Trials. "I'm going to try out!", he exclaimed, and would only talk about Quidditch all through supper. 

As Harry lay down to go to sleep that night, he thought back on his day. He had been apprehensive about his first day of classes, expecting things to be different, rather, because of last year's events. But Hogwarts had looked as it always did, and classes had proceeded as they always had. "I hope it stays this way", Harry thought. And he hoped against hope that all Prof. Dumbledore's actions against Lord. Voldemort would buy for them a year of peace. 

**Author's Notes** Thanks to all the people who reviewed - I especially found The Divine Comedian's review useful. In my defense, all I can say is I don't want this to be a Harry vs Voldemort fic - I would like it to be more well-rounded than that. And so it might be a little light on plot, but the action will pick up in a couple of chapters. Especially Chapter 6 - where Harry will find out a Dark Secret about his family.

Many thanks to Shirin who beta reads and edits my story, JKR, for creating this world in which I can fit my little story, and my English teacher in high school. (Who actually taught me to write.)

Standard Disclaimer: Harry Potter and any other characters you recognise are the property of J.K.Rowling. I am making no money of this fanfic. 


	5. The Guardian of the Ruby of Karda

Chapter 5: The Guardian of the Ruby of Karda Chapter 5: The Guardian of the Ruby of Karda 

The next few days flew by. The fifth years quickly discovered they had no free time at all. When Prof. McGonagall was not lecturing them about how important their O.W.L.s were, she piled on additional homework. Hermione was already working feverishly, creating long study schedules when she was not reading up on arcane potions, something she wanted to do before she started her apprenticeship. 

"You know that no matter how much you study, Snape's just going to favor the Slytherins, don't you?", Ron asked, looking in disbelief at the size of the book Hermione was poring over. 

"I just want to be prepared – you know that Snape will look for any chance to take points off Gryffindor.", Hermione countered, and Harry had to agree that she had a point there. He himself was intensely relieved he didn't have a Potions apprenticeship. He was almost as busy as Hermione though. Quidditch practice was four times a week, Angelina was determined that they would win the Quidditch Cup this year too, so practice was brutal. She was also very worried that they were still short a Keeper. Still, Quidditch trials were the coming weekend, and Harry knew that many Gryffindors wanted to try out. 

It was Wednesday evening. They were sitting in the Gryffindor common room; Hermione had taken a break from "_Almost Forgotten Potions and How to Brew Them"_ and had switched back to "_Famous Dark Witches and Wizards of the 20th Century" _for light reading. She looked highly engrossed in her book. Ron was chatting intently to Seamus, Dean and Neville; they were making plans for their first trick against Fred and George. Harry had joined that discussion for a little bit, it was fun to think of tricks to play against the twins, even though he had his doubts they were going to be able to pull it off. Fred and George were experienced pranksters, it was going to be hard to trick them. Finally though, he had to turn and work on his Divination homework. 

Harry was in the middle of reading "Unfogging the Future, Year 5" when he heard voices raised in anger. He looked up – it was from a group of first years sitting near the fire. They were all looking at Priya Manohar furiously, and one of the girls, Penny Young even had her wand out. "Go back to wherever you came from", she said, her voice hostile, "You don't belong in Gryffindor; you were just put here because no one knew what to do with you."

"Yes, do leave.", echoed a tall boy standing next to Penny. Harry thought his name was Bill Harris. "You're not doing us any favors by being here, that's for certain."

Harry shot a look at Priya. She usually looked very calm, but she was looking very upset. She was pale, and she had a hunted look in her eyes. But she didn't say anything at all. Hermione had lowered her book at the disturbance, and she shook her head. "I was afraid this might happen", she said quietly. 

"Afraid what might happen?", Harry wanted to know.

"I heard Priya Manohar lost some points in Potions today – you know how Snape is, don't you? But I heard she was the only Gryffindor he picked on. So finally, she said something to him, wanted to know why she was being picked on, and before anyone knew what was going on, she'd got Detention and lost 20 points for Gryffindor."

"So what?", Ron asked, looking up. "We have lost hundreds of points in Potions, it never caused a reaction like this."

"Yes, well, some of the first years feel that since she wasn't really Sorted into Gryffindor, its rather unfair when she loses points for them."

"That's ridiculous.", Harry said. "She's in Gryffindor – Prof. Dumbledore put her there."

Parvati had heard the disturbance too, she got up, and went over to the group of first-years. "That's enough, don't you think?", she said to the crowd of angry first-years. "Quiet down."

But before anyone could say anymore, Priya spun around, and ran out of the common room. As she passed them, Harry and Ron could see that her face was streaked with tears. They looked at each other uncomfortably as Hermione got up to follow her out. "I better go see if she's ok", she said. "It doesn't look like she has too many friends in Gryffindor."

That was an understatement, Harry thought. The first years were still looking angry, and Dean Thomas had walked over to talk to them sternly. Dean had been made the other Prefect. Harry had wondered why Hermione hadn't been made one, but she wouldn't discuss it when he had asked her. He suspected that Hermione didn't want to miss out on the trio's adventures, and had therefore refused the position. But so far, Dean and Parvati had made excellent Prefects. Even though Parvati clearly didn't trust either Prof. Manohar or her daughter, she had still tried to stop the First Years from quarrelling with Priya. And from what he could hear, Dean was giving the First Years a stiff talking to about how Gryffindors were expected to behave, and how they had failed to uphold that. 

"I am appalled…", Dean finished, and the First Years finally sat back down. They were still looking resentful though. 

"Dean should take points off them…", Ginny remarked as she walked over to where Harry and Ron were sitting. "I can't believe how hateful they are acting. More like slimy Slytherins than Gryffindors, if you ask me."

Harry had only caught glimpses of Ginny all week, she looked exhausted, he thought. "Potions!", Ginny remarked bitterly, answering Harry's unspoken question. "I blew up a cauldron when I was brewing an Engorgement Potion, and Snape gave me Detention. Filch had me clean all the third floor corridors – without magic!"

Ron looked sympathetic. "Tomorrow evening's our first Apprenticeship", he remarked. "Hermione's got Potions. She's been cramming all evening for it."

"Won't make any difference", Ginny said gloomily. "I swear Snape is even more horrible this year."

Harry was about to say something, when the Portrait Hole swung open. Prof. McGonagall stepped in, and she looked absolutely livid.

"I've just heard something that makes me ashamed of all of you", she said, glaring at them all. "I met Miss. Manohar in the hall; she was talking to Miss. Granger. And do you know what I overheard?" Her voice was icy. "I hear that some of you have taken it upon yourselves to decide that Miss. Manohar should not be in Gryffindor. Why, do you ask? Because the Sorting Hat couldn't Sort her? Do you think that you know better than Prof. Dumbledore?"

"I'm going to explain something which will hopefully put rest to all this", she continued. "There is a lot of speculation about why Miss. Manohar could not be Sorted. I have heard theories that she is a Squib, a Muggle, and even an agent of the Dark Lord! And of course, none of this is even close to the truth."

She took a deep breath, and said quietly, "As you know, Miss. Manohar is from India, and lived there till this year. But you don't know any more about her, and with good reason. I'm going to just say this – Miss. Manohar is a witch with enormous abilities that she has inherited from her family. She is the Guardian of an ancient Indian artifact known as the Ruby of Karda, and her powers come from the Ruby. Prof. Dumbledore believes, and I agree with him, that Miss. Manohar could not be Sorted because the magic of the Ruby interfered with the magic of the Sorting Hat. And we used our best judgement when we put her in Gryffindor."

"That's the end of the topic. I don't want to hear any further discussion about Miss. Manohar's powers, or about how she doesn't belong here. Miss. Young and Mr. Harris, Detention for both of you, and you lose 30 points each for Gryffindor. The rest of the First Years, I have never been more ashamed of a new class than today. I will not tolerate hostility directed at any student. Is that clear?"

She glared at them all, and swept out of the common room. 

…

It was breakfast the next day, and the news about Priya Manohar dominated the conversation at the various House tables. Harry had no idea how the news had spread to the other Houses, but it had, and no one could talk about anything else. Priya hadn't returned to the common room last night, and she hadn't come down to breakfast. Hermione was at breakfast though, and she listened with great interest to what Prof. McGonagall had said. "I had no idea she'd overheard us", she said. "But I'm glad. I was trying to convince Priya to report them, but she didn't want to. It's a pity she is being targeted like this – she seemed like a nice enough kid."

The conversation turned to discussions of the Ruby. "It must be something really powerful and dangerous.", Ron remarked. "Prof. Trelawney warned us about it, do you remember? Maybe it was a bad idea to let someone that powerful study at Hogwarts…"

Hermione snorted. "Prof. Trelawney is a quack.", she said. "I honestly believe that if Prof. Dumbledore and Prof. McGonagall aren't worried about her, neither should we."

"And Prof. Trelawney really only warned us about Prof. Manohar", Harry said thoughtfully. "But it sounds like Priya is the one with all the power."

They discussed it a little while more, but the owls swooping in to deliver letters distracted them. Harry had a letter from Hagrid, inviting him, Ron and Hermione to tea on Sunday, he accepted readily. After that, they all had to rush off to Transfiguration. Prof. McGonagall looked disapprovingly at them as they trailed in, they were a few minutes late, and she looked annoyed. They took their seats quickly, and she started. 

"Today, we are going to talk about changing people into animals. Can anyone tell me what makes someone an Animagus? If I turn Mr. Weasley there into a raven, for example, would he be an Animagus?"

Harry raised his hand, he actually knew this one, and of course, Hermione's hand was raised too. "Yes, Mr.Potter?"

"An Animagus can turn himself or herself into an animal", he said. "Most wizards and witches can change other people into animals, only an Animagus can change himself."

"Good. A point for Gryffindor.", Prof. McGonagall said. "Now, I am going to show you how to change someone into a raven. Watch closely. Miss. Granger, how about you?" Saying that, she took out her wand, aimed it at a bemused Hermione and uttered a spell. A jet black raven stood where Hermione had been. She quickly changed Hermione back, and divided them up into pairs to practice. "Don't worry", she said, as they looked apprehensive. "I am right here to correct the effects of any unfortunate transfigurations."

That didn't reassure Harry at all. Thankfully, Ron was his partner, but he felt sorry for Hermione, who was partnering Neville. Neville looked extremely nervous, Harry could tell he wasn't looking forward to try and change Hermione to anything. 

The results of their attempts at Transfiguration were hilarious, though. Ron's first attempt had given Harry a beak instead of a nose, but that was it. Harry's own attempt wasn't much better, Ron looked unchanged, but could only crow, he couldn't talk. Neville had really concentrated though, and he had done better than both Harry and Ron, he had transfigured Hermione's hands into wings, so she couldn't even attempt to Transfigure Neville. Around the room, strange effects had resulted. Seamus had partnered with Dean, and was covered with black feathers as a result. Dean was just as badly off, he was standing on claws instead of feat. Lavender and Parvati had not made any headway at all, Harry suspected they were nervous about the results and hadn't tried very hard. Prof. McGonagall looked like she was trying not to laugh, her lips were twitching, as she quickly waved her wand, correcting their mishaps.

"Read up on the theory of Transfiguring someone into an animal as Homework", she said, "and practice turning a mouse into a raven. Mr. Filch has a supply of mice you can practice on. And remember, no practicing on your classmates."

After what they agreed was an excellent Transfiguration class, they made their way to their first Herbology class of the year. Prof. Sprout looked cheerful, she was chatting animatedly with the Hufflepuffs who where there waiting for them. 

"Good morning", she said briskly. "We have a lot to learn this year, so let's get going. We are going to be working in Greenhouse 4 today."

Harry had never even heard of a fourth greenhouse, evidently neither had anyone else. Neville bravely asked about it. "It is new", Prof. Sprout said, "we built it over the holidays. Prof. Manohar brought us some seedlings, we now have several rare plants from India housed there, as well as some very dangerous plants that some of the other teachers here have found in their travels. Harry exchanged glances with Ron and Hermione. He had a feeling that Hagrid had contributed, he must have found many unusual plants in his travels up North to visit the giants over the summer. 

They quickly got to work. Prof. Sprout was teaching them about a plant that was prized in India, the _tulsi_. "Some strains of it are available everywhere", she said, "We know it as Basil. But the Indian Wizards and Witches grow a strain of it that is one of the most powerful restoratives I've ever seen. Prof. Snape and I have been working on discovering what we can do with it. We have brewed several powerful potions that cure a variety of magical conditions. Very exciting work – and those of you who are doing Herbology Apprenticeships will be helping us with this. However, today, we are going to attempt to create a more powerful restorative than either mandrakes or _tulsi_ by grafting tulsi onto a mandrake plant. Earmuffs on, please." 

They put the earmuffs on, and got to work. Prof. Sprout showed them how to make a cut in the Mandrake plants, and graft the tulsi onto them. It was tiring work; the tulsi plant was very delicate and had to be treated extremely carefully. Harry's plant wilted under rough handling, Prof. Sprout looked displeased, but she gave him another. They were all glad when the class was over, and it was time for lunch.

The fifth years were both excited and apprehensive at lunch, for after lunch, they would go to their first apprenticeship. Hermione was looking extremely nervous, they could tell she wasn't looking forward to spending the next four hours in the Potions dungeon. Fred and George had only looked gloomy when she asked them how it was; their apprenticeship had been that morning. Ron wasn't looking forward to Divination either; 'I'll only fall asleep, then she'd be all mad at me", he said, not looking happy at all. Harry was excited though. If his Transfiguration apprenticeship was anything like his class that morning, he would have nothing to complain about.

In the end, though, his Transfiguration apprenticeship was uneventful. Prof. McGonagall discussed the theory of the Animagus Transformation with them, and had them read up on it. Harry hoped that she would want them to learn to become Animagi, but she gave no hint of it. Ron had actually fallen asleep in Divination, but luckily for him, Prof. Trelawney hadn't noticed. Hermione returned from Potions looking rather worried. "What, did Snape not give you enough homework?", Ron remarked sarcastically. But she wouldn't talk about her Apprenticeship at all. 

…

Saturday morning dawned bright and clear, and as Harry made his way down for breakfast, he noticed happily that many of the Gryffindors seemed to be up and intent on trying out for the spot of Keeper. He made his way onto the Quidditch field, where the rest of the team was waiting for him. "About time", Fred remarked. "We were wondering where you were." Angelina quickly explained how the trials would work. "Let's try them out by year", she said – "the higher years first. I have about thirty people wanting to try out; but I think we might have more people showing up. We three Chasers will just try to get the ball past whoever is Keeping. I want Fred, George and Harry to watch the Keepers carefully, and note down who you should think goes on the team. Madame Hooch is here too, and she said she'd keep an eye out for us. We can all compare notes afterwards."

The trials started up. Madame Hooch thought that each of the people trying out should get at least a 10 minute trial, so Harry could see that they would be on the Quidditch field for most of the morning. Normally, he wouldn't have had a problem with that, but they had decided last night to play their first trick on Fred and George today. Prof. McGonagall's class had inspired them; they were going to Transfigure the twins' robes into feather-covered ones. Hermione had done some research and found out how to add a delay into the Transfiguration spell, so Ron, Harry and Hermione had sneaked into the twin's dorm room and Transfigured all the robes they found. They refused to let Seamus, Dean and Neville come too – figuring if someone got in trouble, it should be them. 

Harry had assumed that by the time the spell took effect; the twins would be back in the Gryffindor Common Room, but if the Trials took a long time, the spell could actually take effect on the Quidditch field. Harry quickly flew over to where Ron was sitting and told him. "All the better", Ron said cheerfully, "the more people that see Fred and George covered with feathers, the better it will be!". He didn't appear too troubled at the thought they might get caught, so Harry just went back to where Fred and George were watching the trials. 

Only one Seventh year had wanted to try out, the twin's friend, Lee Jordon. Harry didn't know the four Sixth years at all, but it seemed like most of his friends were trying out. Ron had been practicing all week in his spare time, as had Seamus and Dean. Neville had never really overcome his fear of flying, but he had shown up to watch, he sat chatting animatedly to Hermione, Parvati and Lavender. In the Fourth Year, Ginny was trying out, and some of her friends had shown up to yell encouragement. There were a few other Fourth Years trying out too, as well as a bunch of Third Years. Harry also noticed a couple of Second Years, who were looking very serious and intent. He smiled to himself. The younger years took Quidditch very seriously, and some Second Years had taken to coming and watching the team practice. 

And then, out of the corner of his eye, Harry noticed a girl sitting quietly in the stands. It was Priya Manohar. He hadn't seen her since the big outburst in the Common Room. She was looking her usual self today, very calm and quiet. Good for her to get out of the Castle once a while, Harry thought to himself. Its hard to stay upset on such a nice day.

Lee Jordon was good on a broomstick, but he still missed several Quaffles. The faster the Chasers seemed to fly, the more Quaffles he would let through. Harry wrote that down carefully on a piece of parchment. The twins agreed, Lee was obviously a better Commentator than Keeper. 

The four Sixth years went next. One of them, Katrina Kelp blocked almost all the Quaffles directed at her, but she kept leaving the Keeper's zone, and after noticing that, Angelina started to feint a throw to draw her out, and then scored. "And if we see it, so will the Slytherins", Fred said grimly. However, none of the other Sixth years were anything as good as she was. Seamus went next, and after him, Ron. They were both good, but Harry could see that their reactions were rather slow. They could be easily fooled on faster broomsticks. The trials weren't going well so far. It was looking like it would be hard work to find a new Keeper. 

Angelina called a break, and landed on the ground. "What do you think?", she asked the twins and Harry. "So far, the Kelp girl.", George commented. "Maybe she could learn not to leave the zone so often." 

  
Harry had to agree. He would have loved it if Ron got a spot on the team, but Katrina Kelp was better. She hadn't been bothered by how fast the Chasers flew at all. "But nobody is looking anywhere as good as Wood was", he remarked. 

Alicia and Katie nodded. They looked rather discouraged. "Let's keep going, we still have the Fourth, Third and Second years to go through.", Alicia suggested. 

And they kept going. Ginny did a credible job, but she got distracted by her friends in the crowd. Harry shook his head. If she couldn't keep her head in a trial, chances were good that she couldn't play a game without getting distracted by the crowds. 

None of the Third years were any good, and neither were the Second years. Angelina called another break, and landed. The team huddled together. "Katrina Kelp, then?", Angelina asked, rather reluctantly. "Seems like that's our best option…" Katie agreed, but she didn't look happy about it either. Just then, Madame Hooch walked over and interrupted them. 

"That First Year girl wants to try out", she said. "A First Year? Which one?", Angelina asked skeptically. She looked rather impatiently at her watch. "Ok, let's get her over with quickly."

Harry had in the meanwhile glanced around to see who Madame Hooch was talking about. The only first year there was Priya Manohar. "Priya Manohar?", he asked. "I don't even think she knows how to play, she's lived in India her whole life. She'll just waste our time." That seemed cruel, Harry realized, but he was anxious for them to get back to the Common Room before Fred and George sprouted feathers. 

"We have to let her try out", Katie pointed out reasonably, which just made Harry seem churlish. They flew up as Priya took her position guarding the hoops. 

There was no question about it, Priya was by far the best Keeper they had seen all day, and in fact, the best Keeper they had seen in a long time. She made the old Cleansweep 7 school broom she was flying look like a Firebolt as she weaved in and out of the hoops, stopping anything the Chasers were throwing at her. Everyone in the stands watched in astonishment as she laughed out of sheer exiliration as she stopped the Quaffles. Near him, Harry could feel the awe Fred and George felt. She seemed to have fused with her broom, and she rode it like it were an extension of herself. The trial went on, she hadn't let a single Quaffle through. Finally, Madame Hooch blew her whistle. 

Angelina landed, and for a couple of moments, no one said anything as they struggled to digest what they had seen. A small, quiet girl, her hair in two fat pigtails, had single handledly stopped anything the three Chasers had thrown at her, and she had done it without breaking a sweat. Finally, Alicia broke the silence. "I think we have a Keeper.", she said. "I don't think I have ever seen anyone fly as well as that."

And so Priya was the new Gryffindor Keeper. As Ron, Hermione and Harry walked back to the Common Room, Ron was talking admiringly about Priya's performance. It seemed like he could talk about nothing else, and neither could any one else. But strangely, Harry wasn't very happy at all. He was very jealous of the attention Priya was getting. Everyone seemed to think that Priya was the best they had ever seen; no one seemed to remember Harry, and his many heroic captures of the Snitch. Harry was conscious of a great sinking feeling in his stomach. What if he was no longer good at Quidditch? It was the only thing he was good at, and famous for all by himself. Everyone knew him because of his scar and You-Know-Who, but Harry was proud of the fact that he was more than a famous name. What if that wasn't true any more?

With all this going through his head, Harry wasn't in very good a mood by the time they got back to the Common Room. He settled down quietly in a corner, not talking to Ron or Hermoine, pretending to do his Potions homework. He was not even very amused when, as the clock struck 2.00, Fred and George were, with a bang, spectacularly covered with feathers. The rest of the Common Room erupted in laughter as Fred and George stared in astonishment at each other. Ron had borrowed Colin Creevey's camera for the occasion, and he took several photos of the twins, tears of mirth rolling down his face as he did so. Fred's clothes had transfigured to a covering of bright yellow feathers, he looked rather like a chicken. And George who had a bright green and pink covering, just looked very colorful. More laughter resulted as the twins, turning a bright red, ran up to their dorms to change, and found all their robes transfigured in a similar manner. Finally, Lee, laughing really hard, helped them Transfigure them back, but he didn't do a very good job his first try, they changed back to normal robes, but stayed the same bright colors. It took over a quarter of an hour for the twins to successfully Transfigure their clothes back, by which time they figured that Ron and Hermione were responsible for the prank. "Good job!", they grinned approvingly, "but you do realize we have to get back at you…" And with that, war had been declared.


	6. The Potter Family Secret

Chapter 6: The Potter Family Secret ****

Chapter 6: The Potter Family Secret

Harry's mood didn't get any better over the weekend. By Monday morning, the whole school had known who the new Keeper was. At breakfast, six large screech owls had delivered Priya's broomstick, much as they had delivered Harry's broomstick four years ago. Even Ron joined the Gryffindors crowding around her, asking to see the broomstick. It was custom made for her, Priya told them, she had been riding it for the last two years. It was definitely very exotic looking, the handle was painted red, and inlaid with sparkling gems and mirrors, and the twigs glowed golden. 

Only Hermione stayed away, she had her nose buried in a book and she was looking extremely worried. But Harry didn't wonder why, he was too busy trying hard not to feel jealous of Priya. Harry had been the first first-year to play in the Quidditch team for over a century. But that seemed forgotten, as everyone made a fuss of Priya, and admired her broomstick. 

The first class of the morning was Potions; Harry made his way over to the dungeon that was the Potions classroom. He normally had no desire to get to Potions early, but today, he just had to get away. He arrived at the classroom over fifteen minutes early. The door was closed, Snape wasn't there yet. He stood waiting, trying to clear his mind of the jealousy that had engulfed him the last few days. "It is good that she's great at Quidditch," he told himself sternly. "We should win the Quidditch Cup this year for sure." But that didn't make him as happy as it should have. 

"Why are you here, Potter, instead of admiring Manohar's broomstick like the rest of your stupid House?", a voice drawled, and Malfoy stepped into view, flanked as usual by Crabbe and Goyle. "Sod off, Malfoy", Harry responded. About the last person he wanted to deal with right now was Draco Malfoy. "Why, Potter, could you be jealous?", Malfoy laughed. "What's the matter, can't take the fact that you aren't the hottest thing on a broomstick any more?

Harry lunged towards Malfoy angrily, but luckily for him, the dungeon door opened at that moment, and Prof. Snape stood in the doorway. "Fighting again, Potter?", he said silkily, "that will be 10 points off Gryffindor."

Fuming silently, Harry entered the Potions classroom. When the rest of the Gryffindors and Slytherins had filled in, Prof. Snape handed them an instruction sheet that told them how to make an Invincibility Potion with dragon blood. "I have to attend to something", he said abruptly. "Keep working on your Invincibility Potion, I will test your potions at the end of the class. Any disturbances will earn you a Detention." And giving Harry a pointed look, he left the classroom. 

They got to work on their Potions silently. Harry had partnered Neville, and he needed to concentrate on the Potion formula to prevent Neville from blowing up the classroom. Neville looked a lot more relaxed than he usually did in Potions, though. "Wonder why Snape left?", he commented cheerfully, as Harry stopped him from adding the Leaves of the Nightshade before the Dragon Blood had boiled for 15 minutes. 

Largely due to Harry's efforts, their Potion tested fine at the end of the class. Snape looked disappointed, he made up by giving them enough homework for the rest of the week. "Due Wednesday", he said. The class groaned, as they saw their already limited free time vanish. 

"Divination next", Ron announced. "Coming, Harry?"

"You go ahead, I'll catch up…", Harry mumbled. He knew he was being ridiculous, but he felt betrayed by Ron admiring Priya's broomstick. Ron gave him a peculiar look, but nodded and headed off. Harry detoured off to the bathroom. "Stop it", he told himself severely, looking at his reflection in the mirror. He really was being rather ridiculous. Yes, he thought, he wasn't the Quidditch star anymore, Priya certainly was the center of attention, but that didn't make him a worse player than her. "Besides", he muttered to himself, "we'll see how well she does in our first match." And he resolved to catch the Snitch in a most spectacular fashion. "I'll give everyone the best Quidditch match ever – let's see who the star is then." And nodding firmly to himself, he headed up to Divination. 

The rest of the day was mostly uneventful, but as the day passed, Harry began to feel excited. Amidst the appearance of the broomstick, he had forgotten, but this evening was their first Defense Against Dark Arts apprenticeship. In their class that afternoon, Prof. Manohar had set them to work on trying to reproduce her spell to create a force field. And to his great surprise, Harry had realized that the people with the most success with that spell were also the people selected for Defense Against Dark Arts apprenticeships. 

They were in the passage outside the Defense Against Dark Arts classroom, waiting for Professor Manohar to show up. Ron was chatting with Hermione; he looked as excited as Harry felt. However, Hermione didn't look very excited; she just looked worried. Harry idly wondered how many classes she was taking this year. Next to Ron, Hermione was his closest friend, but she had a tendency to take her schoolwork very seriously. 

He was going to ask Hermione exactly why she was looking so worried, but he was interrupted by the arrival of Prof. Manohar. She smiled at them. "Good, all here, I see.", she said, opening the door to the classroom. They trooped in after her, and took their places. 

"This year", began Prof. Manohar, "we are going to do some extensive research into Force Fields. Now, I have done research on Force Fields like the one I showed you in class for many years. Many witches and wizards have the ability to create Force Fields to temporarily protect themselves. But these require a great deal of power to uphold. The ancient Indian texts tell us of a Force Field that protects for over a year. Imagine that. You cast a spell once a year, and you are protected from malicious harm throughout the year. Yes, Miss Granger?"

Hermione, who had raised her hand for a question, asked, "Isn't that the same thing as being immortal?"

"Good question, Miss. Granger. But no. A Force Field will protect you from harm, but it will not stop you from aging. It neither stops the spread of disease, nor does it stop the ravages of time. When the time comes for you to die, there is no Force Field powerful enough to stop that." 

Prof. Manohar took a sip of water and continued, "Through extensive research, I have learned how to keep a Force Field up for over a day. Even when I am asleep. But then, it dies out. And it leaves me weak and drained. This year, we are going to try to learn how to keep a Force Field up for a week, and we want to get some kind of warning sign when it is about to die out." She handed them all copies of a thick book.

"You will notice that this book is written in Sanskrit. To be able to read it, I will first teach you a very useful little translation spell. Once you cast it, you will be able to read any written language for 2 hours. Get your wands out, please, and repeat after me. Matlab Bholo." Prof. Manohar lifted her wand up, and said those words softly, pointing her wand at her eyes. "Matlab Bholo." A pale blue light emerged from the wand, it lit up Prof. Manohar's eyes for a second, then disappeared. 

Harry took his wand out, and pointed it at his eyes. "Matlab Bholo", he said. His eyes itched for a moment as the blue light shone in his eyes, then they cleared. 

Ron had been eyeing Harry rather apprehensively as Harry tried the spell out, seeing that Harry was unharmed, he also cast the spell. "Weird feeling, isn't it?", he remarked. "Tingly."

Hermione shushed them sternly. She was poring over the book in front of her, which Harry saw was still written in Sanskrit, but now he could understand what the words meant. "Neat!", he exclaimed, reading his copy of the book. 

Prof. Manohar cleared her throat. "Now that you can read the book, let me tell you something about it. It is a copy of an ancient Indian text on Magic that has been in my family for generations. The original text is over three thousand years old. I'd like you to split up, read the book, and see if there is any reference to sustainable Force Fields in it. We have many such books to read this term. I hope that with your help, we will find something in one of these books that gives us back the knowledge we once possessed." Prof. Manohar paused, and looked searchingly at the class. For a moment, Harry could have sworn she looked terribly, terribly sad. Then she straightened. "That's all for today. For homework, read the first chapter of the book. We will discuss what we have learned in the next class."

…

The Defense Against Dark Arts Apprenticeship had taken Harry's mind off Priya Manohar's Quidditch skills, and he was determined to keep it that way. But his resolve was severely tested that very evening. Harry wanted to go out to the Quidditch pitch to practice flying his broomstick, he was anxious to try out a maneuver he had seen Mr. Ajouer perform over the summer. But as he walked out to the field, he could see someone there already. It was Priya. She smiled and waved as she saw him. "Hey Harry", she said. Her skin was flushed and glowing, and she looked happy. "I really have missed flying", she confided. "I'm glad my family decided to send me my broomstick. Are you practicing too?"

Harry wanted to deny it and leave, but as he had his Firebolt with him, he could hardly lie. "I'll wait for you to finish", he said, not wanting to sound churlish, but hoping she'd get back to practice. But Priya was evidently in a chatty mood, she made no sign of getting back to practice. To make conversation, Harry asked her about her broomstick. "Patel and Lalwani", she said proudly. Harry looked blankly at her, and she explained. "Patel and Lalwani are Professors at the University of Bombay, they have been doing research into ancient racing brooms for over fifty years, my broomstick is a replica of one flown by Vayu over a thousand years ago."

Harry still looked confused. "Who is Vayu?"

"Indian Muggles refer to him as the God of Wind. But he was a very powerful wizard. He loved to fly, and turned the best minds of his time on researching broomsticks, and the science of flying." She straightened proudly and her face took on a haughty look. "He was an ancestor of mine, Vayu. It is fitting that I ride a broomstick modeled after his own. And someday, I will find his lost treasure, the tribute he was paid by thousands of worshipping Muggles. And there, along with his treasure, will be his lost broomstick. I will ride it to glory, like he did." Her eyes flashed coldly as she said this. Then suddenly she seemed to remember whom she was talking to. She laughed. "I'm joking, Harry. Fooled you, didn't I? Now, I have to go in. Good luck practicing…"

Harry shook his head. "Mad", he told himself. "She's off her rocker, that one." But that encounter had shaken him more than he would admit. There was something in Priya's eyes, it was a look he was convinced he had seen in Piers' eyes the night Piers had come to beat him up. 

However, later on that night, he had to admit he might have been mistaken. He told Ron the story, and Ron wasn't very impressed. "I wanted to be a treasure hunter too… all kids want to find hidden treasure. She's only eleven, she's just being fanciful. Anyway, have you seen Hermione? The first Hogsmeade weekend is coming up, and I want to ask her to come with me for a drink at the Three Broomsticks."

"We always go together, don't we? What do you need to ask her for", Harry said, rolling his eyes. Ron turned pink and mumbled that he needed to go to bed. Harry chuckled. Ron and Hermione had been acting normal lately, but it seemed like Ron had just been biding his time. The Hogsmeade weekend ought to be fun, he thought, as he also went to bed. 

…

Tuesday was the day that Harry hated the most, he had Double Potions in the afternoon with the Slytherins. So far this year, Prof. Snape had been mostly ignoring Harry, but that changed in the Potions class. Prof. Snape had set them to work on a complicated Invulnerability Potion, it involved brewing two separate Potions and then combining them when they were at precisely the same temperature. Harry kept his head down, concentrating on his Potion, when something came whizzing through the air, and fell in his cauldron, turning its contents a sickening shade of green. 

"That's your Potion, Potter?", Prof. Snape sneered. He seemed to have a knack of knowing when the Gryffindors were in trouble during Potions. "Let's try your Potion, shall we? No – not on you, how about on your good friends? Weasley, Granger, let's try this Potion on you."

Harry gulped. "Something fell into it, you can't try it out on them", he protested. 

"Can't, Mr. Potter? I don't think you should be telling me what I can and cannot do… let's make that 10 points off Gryffindor, shall we?"

Hermione stepped forward bravely. Ron stood by her side, a determined look on his face. They each took a beaker full of Harry's Potion, and gulped it down. Much to Harry's relief though, nothing happened to them. They looked perfectly normal. 

Snape frowned. He looked annoyed that something horrible hadn't happened to Ron and Hermione. He was going to take points off Gryffindor, Harry was sure, but there was an interruption. Someone knocked at the classroom door, and the door opened. It was Prof. Manohar. 

"Severus, can I get those ingredients from you now?", she asked abruptly, "I need them rather urgently."

Prof. Snape smiled greasily at her. "Lakshmi, I was expecting you. I have taken the liberty of brewing the Potion for you."

Prof. Manohar raised an eyebrow. "Thank you, Severus, that's very kind of you. I'll wait here while you fetch it, shall I?"

Prof. Snape disappeared into his office to get the mysterious potion, Prof. Manohar glanced around at the students. She looked at Harry's Potion, then her gaze lingered at Ron and Hermione. Rather uncharacteristically, she grinned. "I don't think Prof. Snape would care to know you drank your Invulnerability Potion before you tried Potter's potion", she told them amusedly. "But it is just as well… Potter's potion looks like it will carry some unpleasant results… if I were to guess, I'd wager you would have started growing a tail… Amusing, but not quite the intended effect. Although, that tail _would_ have been invulnerable…" She turned to face Prof. Snape, who had just appeared in the doorway of the classroom with a beaker filled with a golden steaming liquid. "Ah, Severus, good. That looks excellent. Thank you very much…"

Harry, Ron and Hermione exchanged curious looks as Prof. Manohar took the potion and left. "What could it be for", Harry whispered to Ron when Snape was occupied criticizing Neville's Potion. 

Ron shrugged. "Beats me… who threw something into your Potion, I wonder? I saw it fall into your cauldron. Thank heavens Hermione came up with the idea of swallowing some of her Potion first. No doubt Snape thought it would be funny if we both grew tails."

Harry grinned. "Well, it would have been funny, but I'm glad it didn't happen. I bet Malfoy had something to do with it though. It's just the sort of thing he would do." 

Hermione edged over to where they stood talking. "What could it have been?", she asked. "Maybe Prof. Manohar is a werewolf too", Ron replied, grinning. "Or a vampire. And Snape has brewed some potion that will prevent her from transforming in Defense Against Dark Arts class…"

Hermione punched Ron on his arm in annoyance. "I was being serious", she said frostily. Turning to Harry, she continued, "It didn't look like any potion I've ever seen or read about."

Harry raised his eyebrows. If Hermione had never seen or heard about it, that made the Potion very rare. "Maybe you can find out in your next Potion apprenticeship.", he suggested. 

…

After that eventful Potions class, Harry had to rush off to Quidditch practice, Ron wanted to come too, but Hermione dissuaded him. "I need to talk to you", she said, looking very serious. Harry smiled to himself, maybe Hermione was going to ask Ron to go with her to the Three Broomsticks? 

Fred and George were the only ones on the Quidditch field. "Hello, Harry", they hailed, as soon as they say him. Fred looked at him slyly. "What's the next trick, Harry? We were just planning ours." Harry, who knew Ron and Hermione hadn't even started thinking about the next trick, just tried to look mysterious. They spent a couple minutes chatting about the tricks they would play on Snape if they got the chance, laughing at the idea of Snape in the Stuffed Vulture Hat that Mrs. Longbottom, Neville's grandmother regularly wore. Then Angelina, Katie and Alicia walked out to the field. 

"Where's Priya?", Angelina asked. "She's going to be a few minutes late, I think.", George replied. "We had Defense Against Dark Arts, and Prof. Manohar mentioned it."

"Well, lets get started then. I've found out our first match is in a couple weeks, we are playing against Ravenclaw. Cho Chang is their new Captain, and I know she's found some great new players, and they have been practicing hard. We have to beat them."

They started practicing. About 15 minutes into the practice, Priya joined them. She looked pale. "Sorry I'm late", she said, as she mounted her broomstick. They stopped to watch her fly her broomstick. It was fast, that was certain. Harry reckoned it was about as fast as his own Firebolt. But that was until Priya pressed one of the gems on the handle, then the broomstick suddenly accelerated. "Its not much use when you are Keeper", she yelled over the noise of the wind. "But I used to play Chaser, and it was great for that." It looked like she was going over 200 miles an hour. Harry felt that familiar pang of jealousy. She was controlling the broomstick beautifully, and she looked like she had spent her entire life flying. They watched for a couple minutes, then they resumed practice. Angelina had a lot of complicated charts that she went over with them, of various maneuvers they had never tried out before. Overall, it was a good practice, but as Angelina pointed out, they couldn't afford to get complacent. "We don't know what Cho Chang has in store for us…", she said grimly. "But we are going to win. We have the best Keeper ever. And the best Seeker, great Beaters, and great Chasers. That Quidditch Cup belongs to us, and we will win it, no matter how hard we have to practice."

The practice over, Harry set off in search of Ron and Hermione. They weren't in the Common Room, then Dean mentioned he thought he had seen Hermione in the library. Typical, Harry thought as he made his way to the library. He met Nearly Headless Nick on the way, and chatted with him for a couple of minutes. 

Ron and Hermione were indeed in the library, they were sitting in one corner, looking very serious and grave. "Is something wrong?", Harry asked, as he joined them. Hermione exchanged a sober look with Ron. "Harry, sit down, won't you. We have some bad news for you." 

Harry sat, fighting a sudden feeling of dread. "Harry", Ron started, then looked helplessly at Hermione. "Hermione, you tell him."

Hermione swallowed. "Harry, I was reading this book from the library." She pointed to _Famous Dark Witches and Wizards of the 20th Century. _ "Harry, I found this." She opened the book to a page she had marked. It had a picture of a wizard with dark hair and green eyes. He scowled at them. Harry's eyes moved to the text underneath.   


****

Richard Potter

Many dispute that Richard Potter was a Dark Wizard. This much is certain, though, Richard Potter was responsible for the rise of almost all of the Dark Wizards of this century. Both Grindelwald and Lord Voldemort studied with him at his **Institute of Experimental Magic**. 

Richard Potter researched into Dark Arts in his quest for knowledge. He was noted for his research on Necromancy, Resurrecting the Dead, and Zombification. He might not have ever intended to use this knowledge, but the graduates of his Institute had no such hesitation. Much of the havoc Lord Voldemort wreaked came from knowledge he had learned at the Institute. Lord Voldemort's peculiar mastery of the Imperius Curse was widely believed to have originated at the Institute. 

Richard Potter was very well paid by Lord Voldemort for the research he did, the money he received from Lord Voldemort funded future research. At the time of his death, Richard Potter's personal fortune was estimated at over 1 Million Galleons. But it was money believed to be cursed by the souls of the people who had died because of the research Richard Potter did.

Hermione looked anxiously at Harry before continuing. "I looked him up further. Harry, he was your grandfather's brother. Your great-uncle."

In the background, Harry could hear laughter. But he could barely register it. He couldn't breathe. This was why he was rich. "I have to go", he said, rising abruptly. 

"No, Harry, stay and talk with us.", Hermione pleaded. Ron stood up too. "I'll come with you.", he said firmly. 

"No", Harry said. He looked at them. "I need to be by myself." And with that, he walked out. 

He walked for hours, all over the castle. His stomach was churning, he wanted to be violently sick. He now knew where the money in his Gringotts vault came from. Blood money, he thought. Money he had been spending happily was money that Voldemort had paid his great-uncle. Money his great-uncle had used promptly to research more ways people could be killed and controlled. How could Dumbledore and Hagrid not tell him, he thought angrily. They must have known. He wanted to leave the Wizard world. Better live life as a Muggle, with the Dursleys, he thought darkly, than live with the deaths of so many on his conscience. 


	7. A Terrible Dark Arts Ceremony

1.1 Chapter 7: A Terrible Dark Arts Ceremony  
  
A week had passed. The initial shock of learning about his great-uncle had worn off; but Harry was far from okay. The good thing about all his classes, apprenticeships and Quidditch practice was that they kept him very busy; he didn't have any spare time to think. But somehow, the joy had gone from everything. Even zooming through the air on his Firebolt didn't bring him any relief. Ron and Hermione had tried talking to him about his great- uncle; but he hadn't wanted to talk about it. For the first time in his life, he was deeply ashamed of his family.  
  
They were making some progress in their Defense Against Dark Arts apprenticeships. Their research into sustainable Force Fields was not going well, but they had all learned to create a Force Field, and keep it sustained under attack for about an hour. The reading was very interesting though; the Indian wizards and witches had some very interesting theories on magic. Harry had read about flying chariots, animals enchanted to talk, and many other strange and wonderful things. When he had asked Prof. Manohar about them, she had just looked sad.  
  
"It is terrible that we have lost so much knowledge," she had said. "The ancient Indian witches and wizards had powers we almost cannot imagine. Even the weakest of them was able to perform more magic than anyone can nowadays. We think that we have lost focus; the kind of focus they had was marvelous. I have read of wizards meditating to sharpen their focus for years at a time. Imagine then, the kind of magic they could perform. Angered, they could control weather to such a degree that no rain would fall on a land for years. Drought, famine, all within their control. Ultimately, we think that they fought among themselves so much that much of their knowledge was lost. They only wrote a few books on magic, many of them were too paranoid to write down their spells, for fear it might be stolen. What we are able to piece together about their powers are from other books of the period. Books on war that allude to spells cast by witches and wizards, books on weather patterns that talk about how the climate of some regions was altered by magic, and books on medicine that talk about miraculous recoveries aided by powerful healing magic."  
  
The topic had then swung around to how the ancient wizards and witches had seemingly mingled freely with Muggles. "Unlike in the Western World, Indian wizards and witches weren't persecuted by the people, they were revered as next to God," Prof. Manohar said. "The laws of the land didn't apply to them – they were above the law."  
  
Their Herbology lessons were also going very well, under Prof. Sprout's direction, they had successfully grafted tulsi plants brought to Hogwarts by Prof. Manohar onto Mandrakes. The Mandrakes were growing; Prof. Sprout was waiting anxiously for the end of the term for them to be fully grown, when she could brew a Restorative Potion from that plant to see if it was indeed more powerful than anything discovered so far. She was almost giddy in anticipation; she told the class that British Healers were ready to publish her paper when she wrote about her findings. British Healers was evidently a very prestigious publication; Hermione had looked awestruck when Prof. Sprout had made that announcement.  
  
However, it was Harry's Transfiguration Apprenticeship that was turning out to be the most exciting. Confirming his first impression, Prof. McGonagall had wanted them to learn to become Animagi. They were learning the theory behind the Transformation, Prof. McGonagall had warned them that they would not be able to attempt the transformation till next year at the earliest, but Harry was happy to be learning this – he felt he it was something he would share with his father. She had sworn them to secrecy, so Harry couldn't share the exciting news with Ron and Hermione.  
  
It seemed that in all the classes Harry was taking this year, he was learning something that would be useful in fighting Lord Voldemort. In Herbology, they were hoping to make the most powerful Restorative ever made, Prof. Manohar was teaching them how to create a Force Field to defend themselves from attack, even Prof. Snape was teaching them how to brew Invulnerability potions.  
  
The signs were clear that Prof. Dumbledore expected Voldemort to do something big, and he was arming the students with knowledge that would help them fight him. Fred and George had confirmed it when they remarked how different the curriculum had become this year. Harry was determined to do his part. With everything that he had done, Prof. Dumbledore had given him opportunities to succeed. In Harry's first year at Hogwarts, he had sent Harry his Invisibility Cloak, educated him about the Mirror of Erisad, and taught him enough to fend of Quirrill and Voldemort. In his second year, he had sent him Fawkes with the Sorting Hat and the Sword of Gryffindor to fight Tom Riddle. His third year, Dumbledore had recruited Harry and Hermione to save Sirius from being administered the Dementors Kiss. And just last year, after fighting Lord Voldemort, it was Dumbledore who had saved his life from Barty Crouch. Harry was disappointed that Prof. Dumbledore hadn't told him about his great-uncle, but that didn't change how grateful he was to Dumbledore for everything he had done for him. If it wasn't for Dumbledore, he might have been at Stonewall High, wearing Dudley's castoffs, and living in his cupboard underneath the stairs.  
  
Although Harry was enjoying all his lessons (even Potions, since Snape, for the most part, seemed to be ignoring him this year), he wasn't enjoying his Quidditch practice at all. Three times a week he went to practice, and three times a week he endured the Gryffindor team making a fuss of Priya, and taking him for granted. He felt alienated from the rest of the team, although he tried hard not to show it. The first Quidditch match was fast coming up, and they were playing Ravenclaw. Angelina reported that Cho had assembled a really strong team, and Fred and George, who had spied on a Ravenclaw practice for a few minutes before being found out and ordered out, had been impressed with their team. "But," Angelina said, grinning, "with the team we have, we are going to win for sure. I mean, Priya has never let a Quaffle through. How will they even score?" And catching a look at Harry, she quickly added, "And Harry always catches the Snitch for us too... We should win this one easily."  
  
…  
  
It was early one morning, two days before Halloween. Harry, Ron and Hermione had forged a peace of sorts; they would talk about everything other than Harry's great-uncle. They were sitting at breakfast in the Great Hall, discussing the upcoming Halloween feast. "Do you think they'll have pumpkin ice-cream for dessert?" Ron had asked them, when Pidwidgeon distracted him by dropping a letter in his lap. "Hang on, it's for you, Harry," he said. "Stupid owl." Harry reached out for the note, and quickly opened it. "It's from Sirius, " he said in a low voice to Ron and Hermione. "Meet me in the common room – there will be no one there now."  
  
Ron and Hermione quickly stuffed their last pieces of toast in their mouths, and hurried out. As they left the Great Hall, they heard Malfoy sneer. "Your family can actually afford an owl, Weasley? Your mother must have had to sell the family jewels." Crabbe and Goyle faithfully sniggered. Ron's fists clenched; but both Hermione and Harry hustled him away. "Let him be, he's just scum," Hermione said witheringly, not bothering to keep her voice down.  
  
But it had succeeded in putting Ron in a thoroughly bad mood. "Why doesn't Dumbledore just expel Malfoy?" he asked angrily. "I mean, his father is obviously a Death Eater – and Malfoy is probably drumming up support for You-Know-Who right now among the Slytherins."  
  
Harry shrugged; he supposed Ron didn't really want a response to his question, but just wanted to vent. His own feelings toward Prof. Dumbledore were peculiarly ambivalent. For the longest time, Dumbledore had been Harry's hero. But Harry's faith in Prof. Dumbledore had been shaken by the news about his great-uncle. He felt rather used by the whole thing. Hermione, on the other hand, had no such doubt. "Don't be ridiculous, Ron. I'm sure Prof. Dumbledore knows what he's doing, " she said firmly. "Harry, what does Sirius say?"  
  
Harry read the letter aloud. It was very short.  
  
Harry,  
  
I must speak to you urgently. Things are not as they seem, and I need to warn you about some dangers you might face. Trust no one – remember Barty Crouch.  
  
Meet me in Hagrid's cottage the evening after Halloween. Wear your cloak. You must not be followed. Don't bring Ron and Hermione, you can't risk being seen.  
  
Sirius.  
  
"Remember Barty Crouch?" Ron asked, puzzled, as Harry fought the sinking feeling in his stomach. The note from Sirius had an ominous ring to it. With all the work he was doing, Harry had managed to push the events of last year back; Sirius' note brought it all back, Barty Crouch's treachery, Cedric's murder, Voldemort's resurrection, Draco laughing snidely at Dumbledore's end of year speech…  
  
Hermione had evidently been thinking along the same lines as Harry. "It just never stops, does it?" she remarked quietly. Neither Harry nor Ron replied. They really had nothing to say.  
  
…  
  
Angelina had scheduled a Quidditch practice session right before the Halloween banquet, much to Fred and George's disgust. "Have a heart, Angelina! We might be late for the feast…" Fred had protested, but Angelina had been unmoved. "The practice will help your appetite," she had said, and that had been that. Harry had therefore set out with his Firebolt a few hours before the Feast. Ron and Hermione had both wanted to accompany him; they didn't think he ought to be roaming the grounds by himself after Sirius' warning, but Harry had dissuaded them. "I can take care of myself," he said firmly, "besides, Sirius would have mentioned it if there had been an immediate danger."  
  
Only Alicia and Katie were at the field when Harry showed up, a few minutes early. "I think I saw Fred and George," he said. "Good," Katie said feelingly. "I swear, there must be something about being Captain that causes you to go crazy. Even Oliver never made us practice before the Halloween feast."  
  
That got them talking about past Quidditch matches. They were laughing over the time when Harry had almost swallowed the Snitch and won them the game, when Fred, George and Angelina showed up. "Priya can't make it." Angelina said shortly, not at all looking happy about it. "Prof. Manohar just called me into her office to tell me Priya was feeling unwell."  
  
"She wasn't at lunch, was she?" Fred remarked. "Well, I just hope she feels better soon – the match with Ravenclaw is just four days away. And I saw the Ravenclaws at practice yesterday, they looked fantastic. Cho's really done a good job with the team."  
  
No one asked Fred how he had managed to spy on the Ravenclaws; Angelina looked even unhappier. "All we can do is hope she feels better soon," she said. "Come on, let's get started. You do want to go to the feast, don't you?"  
  
They practiced rather half-heartedly for over two hours. Angelina was clearly distracted by the possibility they might not have their star Keeper for their match against Ravenclaw, and although he didn't admit it, so was Harry. And so it was that when the practice ended, that Harry asked Angelina if she wanted him to check on Priya for her before he joined Ron and Hermione at the Feast. "Could you?" Angelina said gratefully. "That would be great. Thanks, Harry."  
  
…  
  
A half hour later, Harry was feeling like an idiot for volunteering to check on Priya. He had looked everywhere, the Common Room, at the Feast, the Hospital Wing and even most of the classrooms, and there was no sign of Priya anywhere. And Prof. Manohar was nowhere to be found either. "This is stupid," Harry said to himself, when it suddenly struck him. "Of course. The Maurauder's Map."  
  
Harry hadn't used the Maurauder's Map at all this year, he had a hard time finding it. Finally, he located it at the bottom of his trunk, next to his Invisibility Cloak. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good," he said, holding his wand over the map, watching the map of Hogwarts swim into view. "Where could she be?" he wondered, looking all over the map for Priya. Then he located a figure labeled Priya Manohar, quite still in the Potions classroom. Next to that figure was one labeled Lakshmi Manohar. Prof. Snape however, was not in the Potions classroom with them, Harry's Map showed he was in the Great Hall with the other teachers.  
  
This was odd. Neither Priya nor Prof. Manohar had any reason to be at the Potions dungeon. In fact, if Priya hadn't been feeling well, the Hospital Wing would have been the logical place, or if not there, her dormitory. This definitely needed investigation, but Harry's instinct was to be wary. He grabbed his Invisibility Cloak, swirled it over his head, and made his way towards the dungeons.  
  
The corridors were deserted, the school was at the feast, Harry didn't even encounter Filch and Mrs. Norris on the way. He made an extra effort to be quiet as he neared the door of the Potions classroom; it was slightly ajar and he could hear someone talking. It sounded like Prof. Manohar. Leaning forward, he peeped in through the crack…  
  
And nearly yelled in shock. Priya was seated on the floor, on some kind of golden plank, facing a fire that was burning in the middle of the room. Her eyes were vague and unfocused, she reminded Harry strongly of someone under an Imperius curse. Prof. Manohar was holding a red-hot knife in her hand, she had evidently heated it in the fire. "Hold out your right arm," she said. Priya did so, without any change in expression. Prof. Manohar started chanting an incantation. Harry strained to hear the words of the chant, but he couldn't make anything out. But the knife in Prof. Manohar's hands glowed bright red, and almost seemed to guide itself as Prof. Manohar took Priya's right hand, and made two deep slits in her palm, in the shape of an X.  
  
Priya didn't even flinch, not even when Prof. Manohar took her hand, held it over the flames and let the blood drip into the fire. The blood was a deep red in color, but as it touched the flames, it seemed to turn to gold. "This has to be done," Prof. Manohar said quietly to Priya. "You know that as well as I do. I am not amused by your attempt to avoid this." Priya made no reply in answer, or even gave a sign that she had heard her mother.  
  
Prof. Manohar then stepped on the opposite side of Priya, facing the fire. She raised both her arms to the sky, and started chanting a spell, getting louder and louder as she chanted.  
  
She seemed to slip into a trance as she chanted, then suddenly, the fire rose to the ceiling. The whole room was lit by it, and it seemed to engulf Priya.  
  
Harry panicked. He had seen enough. He practically ran back to the Gryffindor Common Room, stuffed his Cloak into his trunk, and made his way to the Great Hall in a daze.  
  
What could it all mean? Why did Prof. Manohar cut Priya, and feed her blood to the fire? And Priya hadn't been bound, why didn't she run? Did Prof. Manohar intend Priya harm? This seemed unlikely, Prof. Manohar had always seemed like a normal mother. Harry remembered how worried she had been when Priya hadn't been Sorted. But still, what normal mother would slash her daughter's palm? Most of all, Harry was chilled by her tone when she had talked to Priya. It had been normal, almost conversational.  
  
Ron and Hermione were full of questions about why he was late. They were eating dessert. "Fred and George were here ages ago," Ron complained. "We saved you some food." Harry didn't reply, he quickly gulped some food down. "Come on, we need to find a place to talk," he said when he was done, rising from the table. Ron looked longingly at his plate of pumpkin pie and ice-cream, but he quickly rose too, when he saw the expression on Harry's face.  
  
The three of them made their way to the Gryffindor Common Room. There was no one there; everyone was still at the feast. Harry told them what he had seen. Ron and Hermione's faces were ashen by the time he was done. And Harry, as he was telling the story, realized what was disturbing him so much about what he had seen. The blood, the strange ceremony, they were all similar to the one last year that had resurrected Voldemort.  
  
"You have to tell Dumbledore," Hermione said, when she recovered slightly. "Harry, this is a Dark Arts ceremony, I'm sure of it. Anytime blood is used in a Potion, or a Spell, anytime blood is unwillingly given by a person, or taken from a person, there is Dark Arts involved."  
  
"Yes Harry, Dumbledore will know what to do," Ron piped in. "By the way, do you remember any of that spell she was chanting? We could look it up."  
  
That suggestion was enthusiastically received by Hermione. Harry hadn't heard much of Prof. Manohar's spell when she cut Priya, but he did remember pieces of the chant that caused the fire to rise to the ceiling. Hermione scribbled down what Harry could remember. "I'll start looking in the library tomorrow," she said. "Tell Sirius too – he might know what this chant means."  
  
Harry looked reluctant. "Sirius will worry. I don't want him to do something stupid. He's still wanted by the Ministry, if he is busy protecting me, he might get caught."  
  
"Harry, don't be ridiculous. What you saw today sounded serious. Sirius should know, and so should Dumbledore. Prof. Manohar could be working with You-Know-Who, and they could be plotting something terrible." Ron looked pale, but determined. "I will tell Dumbledore myself if you won't."  
  
That surprised Harry. Ron was usually willing to go along with Harry; he thought he'd have to argue with Hermione. This must have really scared Ron. "I'll tell Sirius, alright? Let's see what he thinks."  
  
…  
  
It was late next evening as Harry hurried towards Hagrid's hut, buried under his Invisibility Cloak. He had seen Hagrid chatting with Prof. McGonagall in the Great Hall as he left; his conversation with Sirius would be uninterrupted.  
  
Harry wasn't quite sure what to say to Sirius. Sirius had already sounded worried in his letter. What Harry had seen the previous day had scared him, but he was even more afraid of something happening to Sirius. The Dementors were not actively hunting for Sirius still, as far as he knew, but Sirius was still sentenced to receive the Dementor's Kiss if he was caught. And Harry was convinced that Sirius would be caught if he hung around at Hogwarts.  
  
Fang was barking inside Hagrid's hut as Harry let himself in. Sirius's head was hovering in the fireplace; his face broke out into a broad and relieved smile as he saw Harry. "Harry – its good to see you. How are you doing?"  
  
"Fine." Harry answered. It was good to see Sirius. He hadn't seen Sirius for over five months, not since just after Voldemort was resurrected. "Where have you been?" he asked curiously.  
  
Sirius ignored his question. "Harry, listen to me carefully. I can't stay long, but I needed to warn you. I've heard some troubling things."  
  
He took a deep breath and continued. "Voldemort has been looking for allies. He dare not face Dumbledore by himself, so he has been striking deals with other powerful witches and wizards from all over the world. And I believe one of these witches might already be at Hogwarts…"  
  
"Prof. Manohar. Of course." It made sense to Harry. He quickly told Sirius what he had seen the previous day.  
  
Sirius looked very worried by the time he had finished. "She is probably not after you, Harry, I believe that it is Dumbledore that is the target. But you still need to watch out. That she would use her own daughter for a Dark Arts ceremony…"  
  
"Do you know the spell?" Harry asked. Sirius shook his head. "No, I don't. But I will look it up."  
  
"Why would she be doing that to Priya though?" Sirius wondered. And then it struck Harry why. "The Ruby of Karda." He told Sirius what Prof. McGonagall had told them about Priya and the Ruby.  
  
Sirius had turned pale. "I have heard of the Ruby of Karda. As the story goes, thousands of years ago, an Indian God crafted the ruby, and before he died, he transferred his magical powers in it. Generations of Guardians have protected the Ruby from harm. They have also safeguarded it from many Dark wizards that wanted to seize the Ruby, activate its powers, and use it to gain power."  
  
"If Lakshmi Manohar is using her daughter's blood for a spell," Sirius continued, "then we have much to fear. The Guardian's blood is powerful. Especially powerful is the blood from the Guardian's right hand. It is in the right palm that the Ruby is embedded. If Lakshmi Manohar is using the blood to gain power, soon she might be powerful enough to bypass the Guardian's natural defenses and take over the Ruby."  
  
"And then Voldemort would be powerful enough to challenge Dumbledore," Harry finished dully. "Sirius, what can we do? Prof. Manohar is Priya's mother. She can take over the Ruby anytime she wants!"  
  
"Harry, calm down," Sirius said. He still looked worried. "We aren't weaponless in this battle. There is a reason Voldemort is afraid to challenge us directly yet. Because right now, we are more powerful than him. Dumbledore is the greatest wizard of our time. It is possible Lakshmi Manohar is at Hogwarts so Dumbledore can keep an eye on the Ruby."  
  
"But Prof. Dumbledore doesn't suspect Prof. Manohar, Sirius, I'm sure of it."  
  
"I will talk to Prof. Dumbledore, Harry. Listen, I have to go. Be careful. Stay out of trouble. And DO NOT meddle in this." With that, Sirius was gone. 


End file.
